Fallout: Escape!
by coastierks
Summary: This is the story of Marcus. To the residents of Vault 101 he's just a regular 18 year old kid; who happens to be carrying on a secret love affair with the Overseer's daughter, Amata. But soon fate will step in, and he will be forever known to the rest of the Wasteland as "The Lone Wonderer."
1. Chapter 1

Fallout: Escape!

Marcus answered the final question and started breathing once more. As he sat back in his seat, he realized that sweat was running down his back. The G.O.A.T was something that every sixteen year old dreaded; the one test that would determine what ones job would be for the rest if their lives in Vault 101. Most of Marcus' friends felt he had nothing to worry about, seeing as how his father was the Vault's doctor and an overall brilliant man. But Marcus new the truth: he was nowhere near as smart as his father. Sure he hacked a couple of computers for fun, but that was easy. If only they gave points on the G.O.A.T for shooting, he thought. Using the BB gun his father secretly gave him for his tenth birthday, Marcus would practice taking out rad roaches in the Vault's lower levels; and he had racked up quite the "body" count over the years.

"Marcus!"

Marcus sighed. It was the teacher, Mr. Brotch. Time for the bad news, he thought as he got up and walked over to the front of Brotch's desk. "Yes?"

Mr. Brotch stared at the test in front of him. "Well Marcus, according to this you would be a good priest."

Marcus' eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "A priest! Are you serious?"

Brotch took a quick look around, and then leaned in closer. "Listen," he whispered, "I know the test is bullshit, okay. I normally don't do this, but I still owe your father for helping me last year."

Marcus knew what Brotch was talking about. One of the Vault's doors malfunctioned and slammed down onto Brotch, breaking his right leg. If not for the fast work of Marucs' father, there is little doubt that Brotch would've lost his leg completely. Marcus thought about the offer, but decided against it. He just wanted to get out of there. "Thank you, but I'll keep the results."

Brotch leaned back in his seat. "Alright. You're dismissed."

Marcus turned and headed out the door as fast as he could without running. He was only halfway down the first corridor, when a pair of hands pulled him into a storage closet. The door shut behind him and Marcus found himself in total darkness. His first thought was that it was Butch and his Tunnel Snakes gang looking for another fight. Marcus had had run-ins with them before, and despite being outnumbered, he was able to hold his own. Once Marcus had broken Butch's nose, which annoyed his father since he had to patch him up. As he braced himself for what he thought was the inevitable assault, instead of hitting him, his kidnapper kissed him! Even in the darkness, Marcus realized who it was. "Amata!"

The light to the storage room came on, and there was her beautiful face beaming with that incredible smile. She giggled as she saw the surprise on his face. "Surprised you, didn't I?"

Marcus answered by taking her into his arms and kissing her passionately. She returned his embrace, and for the next few moments no words were spoken. Finally they stopped, but only because they needed air. "So," Amata began, "how did it go?"

Marcus took a breath. "It said I would make a good priest."

Amata laughed, but quickly covered her mouth so that they couldn't be heard. "Well, you'd _better_ not take a vow of celibacy, Mr."

Marcus smiled; she always knew how to make him feel better. "No priest could ever resist you."

Amata smiled and unconsciously bit her lower lip. Marcus knew what that meant and they embraced again. He wanted her so badly that he ached. As he began pulling the front zipper of her jump suit down, Amata's gentle hand stopped him. "I'm sorry, but I can't. My father's expecting me."

Marcus released the zipper and sighed in defeat. "When can I see you again?"

Amata could see the hunger in his eyes. "Tomorrow…. after class." She smiled and gave him one last kiss before leaving.

Marcus walked into his living quarters and was surprised to see his father there. Usually he would be in his lab until late in the day, so the fact that he was sitting as his desk was a bit unusual.

"Dad?"

James quickly placed the holotape he was listening to out of sight. "Marcus, come in. So, how was the G.O.A.T?"

Marcus sat down on the bed across from his father and told him the results.

"A priest, hu? Well don't worry, we'll find a place for you here."

Marcus nodded. "So what is that you're working on?"

James silently cursed himself for not hiding the holotape faster. "Oh….just some old research I was working on before you were born." He quickly changed the subject. "I know something that could cheer you up."

James stood and Marcus followed. "Where are we going?"

"To the lab, I have something to show you. But," he stopped and pointed directly at his son. "you must not tell _anyone _about this. You understand-no one. Not even Amata."

That last comment caught Marcus off guard. Everyone new that he and Amata were friends, they had been since childhood. But could his father know more…

"I promise." He managed to say.

James smiled. "That's my boy." He placed his arm around Marcus. "Come on, you'll love this."

Once they had reached the lab, James locked the door behind them. Only three people had the code to enter: James, his assistant Jonas, and the Overseer. James trusted Jonas with his life, but if the Overseer caught them it could spell disaster for both him and his son.

"What are we here for, Dad?"

James headed over to a door in the far side of the lab; a door that had always been locked and that Marcus had never set foot through. "Now you know all about you PIPBOY 2000, right? It can show you where you are, your current health, record and playback video and scan the air and water for radiation, right?"

Marcus nodded. The PIPBOY 2000 was invented by Vault-Tech (the same company that built Vault 101) before the Great War. Everyone in the vault was giving one when they were ten; as a rite of passage of sorts. Marcus could not understand what this had to do with what was behind that mysterious door.

James began punching in a code on the doors panel. "What you don't know is that just before the war, Vault-Tech was working on an updated PIPBOY." After entering the code and placing his thumb on a biometric scanner, the door slid open. "Behold: the PIPBOY 3000-the only prototype to survive the war."

Marcus stepped inside the room. It was the size of any storage closet and was empty except for a small pedestal in the center. Resting on the pedestal, under a glass cover and blue light, was the PIPBOY 3000. Marcus approached and stared at it in owe. The PIPBOY 3000 was just like the 2000-only it had a touch screen instead of the buttons that routinely broke off. Marcus knew that couldn't be the only upgrade to this beauty. "What does it do?"

His father removed the glass cover. "Well, in addition to everything that the 2000 can do, the 3000 has a feature called V.A.T.S." He handed the PIPBOY to his son.

"What is V.A.T.S?" Marcus asked as he held and studied the pre-war tech.

"It stands for: Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System. Do you notice the four small spikes on the inside of the device?"

Marcus looked and noticed the four quarter inch long spikes on the inside of the PIPBOY. This surprised him since this was the part of the PIPBOY that wrapped around ones arm. "Yes."

"Well, unlike your PIPBOY 2000 which you can take on and off, this model attaches directly to your central nervous system."

Marcus cringed at the thought of this spikes sinking into his flesh. "That sounds painful."

James chuckled. "Yes, but only for a few moments. The way the V.A.T.S system works is it allows you select up to three targets with your own eyes. By synchronizing your line of sight to your body movements, you have a 96% chance of hitting the target; from the tallest man to the smallest field mouse."

Marcus stared down at the PIPBOY once again. Imagine the rad roaches he could kill with this tech.

"But remember," His father continued, "after three targets you have to wait at least sixty seconds for it to recharge."

Marcus shrugged. "That's not long."

James smirked at his naivety. "When you're fighting for your life, a minute could make all the difference. "

Marcus looked up at his father-and wonder how it was he knew that. James took the PIPBOY and placed it back on its pedestal. "Come, we should leave now before we are caught."

As they left the secret room, Marcus couldn't help but ask: "Dad, why are you showing me this?"

James forced himself to smile; he couldn't bear to tell him the truth. "Can't a man spend some quality time with his son?"

Marcus smiled back. "I guess so."

James slapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get some dinner."


	2. Innocence Lost

Innocence Lost

"Wake up!" Amata yelled as she nudged him violently. "Come on, wake up!"

Marcus seemed to be in a stupor as he rolled over and opened his eyes. He smiled when he realized who it was. "Oh…I'm having that dream again."

Amata responded with a slap. "This is no time to be a smartass! You have to get out of here!"

Now Marcus was fully alert and he quickly sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"Your father is gone! Somehow he left the Vault, and now my father's men are looking for you."

Marcus jumped to his feet and grabbed Amata's shoulders. "What do you mean he left the Vault? That's not possible!"

"It's true!" Amata fought back the tears. "Your father is gone and _my _father is furious. His men are on their way. He's questioning Jonas right now and I don't know what he's going to do to him."

Marcus couldn't believe what was happening. This _had _to be a dream; a very bad dream. "But….I had no idea what my father was planning….."

"I know that, but my father won't believe you. You're only chance is to leave the Vault."

Marcus was stunned. "Leave the Vault! How? There must be a dozen guards between here and the main door."

"There is a secret tunnel underneath my father's office that will take you directly to the entrance." She reached inside a small satchel and pulled out a 10mm pistol, which she placed into Marcus' hand. "Take this; I stole it from my father. It's loaded with about fifteen rounds."

Marcus looked down at the weapon, and his hands immediately started shaking. He stared into Amata's tear filled eyes. "I….I can't…"

"You must!" Amata stared at him with a determination he had not seen before. It was clear she was determined to keep Marcus safe-no matter what.

Reluctantly, Marcus silently nodded. Amata kissed him on the lips. "I'll try to delay them, you just get going. You'll have to hack into my father's computer to open the tunnel; I don't know his password." She stared at his PIPBOY 2000. "And take that thing off! They can track you with it."

He watched as she sprinted down the corridor. Marcus stood in his room frozen in place. In his mind he knew had to get going, but his body would not move. A million questions were going through his mind all at once, but the most frequent was: "Why? Why did he just leave me here?" Marcus stared at the pistol once again and he began to sweat as he thought about what he might have to do with it. Killing rad roaches was one thing, but killing another human being…..

The sound of the Vault's general alarm nearly caused Marcus to drop that very pistol. It was immediately followed by an announcement over the PA system:

_"Attention all Vault personnel: we have a level one rad roach infestation on levels two and three. All available security personnel muster in the armory. All civilians stay in your quarters until you receive further instructions."_

Marcus sprang into action. If there was any chance of him escaping, it would have to be now! He quickly got dressed in his jumpsuit and boots, grabbed his small back pack and began stuffing it with whatever he thought he might need on his journey. A change of clothes, some soap, three bottles of water, etc. As he turned to leave, his eyes caught site of the picture he had on his desk of himself and his father. Jonas had taken it on his tenth birthday; the same day Marcus received his BB gun from his father. The picture was in a frame that was engraved with his mother's favorite passage from the Bible. It was Revelation 21:6: "_I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink from the spring of the water of life." _ He picked up the photo and stared at it, fighting back the tears. "Why?"

At that moment Marcus had made a decision: he would go out into the Wasteland and find his father. No matter how long it took, Marcus would have an answer to that question.

As he was about to place the picture into his backpack, the back of the frame fell out and landed on his desk. Marcus looked down and saw that a small holotape had fallen out with the photograph. "What the hell?" He picked it up and studied it for a moment. He knew time was running out, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. Marcus slid the small disc into his PIPBOY and pressed play. He immediately recognized the voice of his father:

"_Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first. I... I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong and there's really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going."_

"_Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with."_

"_Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you, son."_

Marcus stood there silent for several minutes. "Something he had to do?" He thought out load. "What could possibly be so important out in that hell hole?" Marcus sighed: more questions.

After removing the holotap, Marcus removed his PIPBOY and placed it on the floor in front of him. He then picked up his baseball bat and smashed it until the power light went out. Marcus began making his way down the long corridors of the Vault towards the Overseer's office on the first level. So far he hadn't run into anyone; the rad roach problem seemed to be taking care of that. He had just climbed the stairs to the second level when his luck ran out.

"You! Hold it right there!"

Marcus was standing face to face with two of the Vaults security guards, who were both dressed in riot gear and had their pistols drawn. He recognized them as officer's Gomez and Mack. Gomez was always nice to Marcus and his father, but Mack had always been a bully. Marcus raised his hands and slowly backed away. "I don't want any trouble."

Mack ignored him. "You're under arrest for treason."

That was not the reaction Marcus was hoping for. "Treason! I haven't done anything….."

"Shut up! And stop fucking moving!"

Marcus continued his slow retreat as the guards approached. "I just want to leave, okay. No one has to get hurt."

"Don't make this any harder on yourself, kid." It was Gomez who spoke this time, and judging by his tone, he wasn't enjoying this either.

The door to Officer Mack's left slid open-and he barely had time to scream before three rad roaches leaped on him. Gomez stepped back and fired four shots wildly, missing three of them. Marcus watched in horror as the rad roach sitting on Mack's chest ripped a huge chunk of flesh out of his throat.

The roaches were now focused on Gomez, who was screaming and firing his pistol as they swarmed him. Marcus knew this could be his only chance, but he couldn't let Gomez suffer such a fate. He saw Gomez go down as a rad roach sunk its teeth into his left leg. Drawing the 10mm pistol, Marcus took aim at the roach now climbing up Gomez's torso and fired. The bullet struck the rad roach's head and exploded. Marcus fired four more rounds and made quick work of the last two.

Gomez pushed the dead roach off his chest. Marcus slowly approached him. "Are you alright?"

Gomez held his leg and winced in pain. "I'll live," he stared up at Marcus. "thanks to you, kid. Listen, just get out of here, okay. As far as anyone else is concerned, you were never here."

Marcus began to breathe a little easier. As he walked passed the carnage, Gomez called out to him. "Hey kid!"

He tensed up and turned, fearing that Gomez had changed his mind.

Gomez pulled a 10mm magazine from his vest and tossed it at him. "You may need this."

Marcus caught the magazine and thanked him. Not wanting to risk another encounter, he decided to take a different route; one that he hadn't taken since his childhood. The ventilation shafts were always his favorite "playground", and he'd spent many hours exploring them. As he squeezed into one, he realized the shafts were a lot tighter than he had remembered; probably because he was nine the last time he was inside of one. Luckily the shafts were big enough for a man to crawl through, and soon he found himself on the first level. He was heading for the Overseer's office when he heard loud voices coming from the other direction. Marcus realized they were coming from his father's lab, so he decided to make a detour.

As he got closer, he recognized two of the voices: Jonas and Chief Hannon, head of security. Marcus stopped at a ventilation grate above the center of the lab. Directly below him was Jonas, and in front of him were Chief Hannon and four other security officers.

"This is ridiculous," Jonas began, "shouldn't your men be dealing with the rad roach infestation?"

Hannon ignored his question. "I'm going to ask you just one more time: where is the doctor?" Hannon drew his pistol and pointed it directly at Jonas' head.

"You're going to shoot me now? I told you: I don't know where James is!"

Hannon shrugged. "You had your chance."

The sound from the gun echoed through the ventilation shaft. Marcus held in his scream as he saw Jonas, his friend and assistant to his father, fall backwards onto the cold floor of the lab. Blood poured out of the wound in Jonas's head, and in a matter of moments the area underneath Marcus was crimson. He watched as Hannon holstered his pistol, and left the lab with the rest of the officers following.

It was all Marcus could do to keep from throwing up. He had just seen his good friend killed right in front of him-and he hadn't done anything to stop it. Silently he cursed himself for being a coward. "Why didn't I try to save him?" A moment later, the answer came to him: "Because then I'd be dead too."

This realization didn't make Marcus feel any better. He was a good shot, but there's no way he could've out shot five security officers. Unless he had…..

"The PIPBOY 3000!" Excitement filled his soul. This must be why his father had shown it to him the other day. It was clear his father wanted him to stay in the Vault, but he also wanted to give Marcus an edge encase things got violent; and they certainly had. As quietly as he could, Marcus removed the grate and climbed down into the lab. Try as he might, he was unable to completely avoid stepping in Jonas' blood. Marcus ran over to the locked room where the PIPBOY 3000 was kept and stared at the key pad. "Okay Dad, what would you use for a code?"

He pondered this for several moments. His father was a smart man and hacking this door would not be easy. He began looking through his desk, hoping that he had written it down somewhere. Eventually Marcus found his father's bible and opened it. The marked page was Revelation 21:6. Marcus rubbed his chin. "Worth a shot." He walked over to the door a typed in 2-1-6. The light on the biometric monitor went from red to green. Marcus was happy that he'd broken the code, but now he had another problem. To complete the unlocking procedures, he needed a finger print of one of the three men who had access: his father, the Overseer and….he looked over at the corpse on the lab floor….Jonas.

Marcus considered using his father's surgical sheers to cut Jonas' finger off but he quickly pushed the thought from his mind; there was no way he was going to butcher his friend's body. He painstakingly dragged Jonas to the door, leaving a trail of blood through the center of the lab. Marcus placed Jonas' forefinger onto the scanner, and the door slid open. Quickly he stepped inside, shut the door behind him, and approached the PIPBOY 3000. Marcus carefully removed the glass case and placed it on the floor. He picked it up with his left hand and stared at the four spikes on the inside of the device. He took a few deep breaths and braced himself: this was going to hurt. "Here we go."

Marcus rolled down the sleeve on his right forearm and slid the PIPBOY over it. Without warning the device snapped shut and the four spikes were plunged into his flesh. Marcus could not contain the scream that left him, and he dropped to his knees. He suddenly felt a burning sensation where his wounds were and the smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils. Marcus realized that the spikes were cauterized the wounds, which meant he wouldn't bleed to death, but now felt a tingling sensation going up his arm, down his torso until it finally encompassed his whole body. He began to shake and Marcus cursed at God-then prayed that he would take the pain away. Then, something incredible happen: Marcus began to see green digital words scrolling in front of him; like a computer screen booting up. He reached out with his left hand to touch them, but there was nothing in front of his face but air. These words appeared underneath his retina and Marcus was so mesmerized by this that he almost forgot the pain; which was beginning to subside. A few moments later the pain was almost completely gone, the words scrolling across Marcus' eyes stopped at a single word: complete.

Marcus stood up and stared at the PIPBOY. Save for some tenderness around where the four spikes plunged into his arm, the pain was gone. "Groovy."

Before leaving the lab, Marcus grabbed a first aid kit off the wall, a few stimpaks, and stuffed them into his bag. Deciding not to use the ventilation system, Marcus trained his pistol on the lab's main door and opened it. The corridor was empty and he continued making his way towards the Overseer's office. Marcus rounded a corner and found himself standing in the Atrium. At the other end was the Vaults main exit, which was being guarded by two of the Overseer's security. Marcus ducked behind the corner and began considering his options, when he spotted Tom and Mary Holden standing in the middle of the Atrium. He could over hear what they were discussing, and realized they were talking about an escape plan!

"Don't you see," Tom began, "this is our chance! We're getting out of here, just like the doctor."

Before Mary could protest, Tom began running toward the entrance. Marcus was about to scream for him to stop when the gunfire began. Tom was hit twice in the abdomen then once in the head; he was dead before he hit the ground. Mary screamed and began running toward her dead husband, and that's when Marcus sprang into action. He was not going to stand by and watch another innocent get murdered. Running at a full sprint, he drew his pistol and charged at the two guards, who he recognized as Officers O'Brian and Richards. They opened fire on Mary, hitting her once in the leg. She screamed and fell to the ground, and it was then that they saw Marcus charging towards them. "That's him!" O'Brian yelled. "Take'm out!"

Marcus raised his gun-and it was as if time slowed down. Where the PIPBOY sensed his rage, or the sudden rush of adrenalin, or maybe the sudden increase in his focus, Marcus was not sure. All he knew is that the PIPBOY's V.A.T.S system activated automatically. Officer O'Brian's head, which is what he was aiming for, was suddenly eliminated in green with the number: 87% above it. _"You can choose up to three targets, and have a 96% chance of hitting it."_ He's father's words ran through his mind, and Marcus shifted his gaze towards Richards. The Officer's head eliminated in green, and the number above read 83%. Once he'd chosen his targets, Marcus fired.

The 10mm round shattered the visor on O'Brian's helmet and struck him between his eyes. His body was just beginning to fall when the second bullet hit Richards in his face below his right eye. Marcus stared in disbelief at the crumbled bodies. Even though time had seemed to slow down for him, the gun fight had lasted less than five seconds. Marcus stared down at the PIPBOY, then to his gun-and that's when he realized what he had done. He had killed two men; men that he had known his whole life. Men who had gunned down an unarmed man in cold blood. The sound of Mary moaning in pain knocked him out of his trance, and he quickly ran over to her. "Are you alright?"

Mary answered by crying out for her husband. Marcus took out the first aid kit and a stimpak he had taken from his father's lab and went to work on her leg. He quickly bandaged it up and injected one of the stimpaks just above the wound. "There, you should be alright."

Mary looked up at him through her blood shot eyes. "Don't let them get you."

Marcus nodded and headed over to the bodies of the two Officers. He had a plan that would take him to the Overseer.

"Now Amata you must be reasonable," the Overseer said as he stood over his daughter. "I just want to talk to him, that's all."

Amata sat in a chair in Chief Hannon's office on the first level of the Vault. She was trying her best not to show fear, but the sight of the Chief standing next to her father with a baton in his hand was making it difficult. "I don't know where he is…."

"You're lying!" Hannon slammed his baton on the table in front of her, causing Amata to jump in her seat. "We know you stole the pistol from you father's office, and since it's not on your person, it's obvious that you gave it to him!"

"Now, now Chief there's no need for that." The Overseer placed on hand on Hannon shoulder and he backed away. The Overseer's voice was calm and calculating. "Now Amata, I won't be able to control the Chief for much longer if you continue to lie."

Amata knew that was a lie. "Please, he's my friend."

The Overseer sighed. "You leave me no choice. Chief, give her a little persuasion."

A sadistic smile crossed Hannon's face as he stepped forward and back-handed Amata across her face. He was about to strike again when the door to his office opened, and one of his Officer's stepped inside.

The Overseer addressed the Officer, who was in full riot gear and staring at the ground. "Well, do you have a report?"

The Officer struck the Overseer across the face with a 10mm pistol, knocking him across the office and against the wall. Amata watched in amazement as the Officer removed his riot helmet and revealed the face of Marcus.

Chief Hannon turned and drew his pistol, but before he could fire Marcus raised his pistol and shot the gun right out of the Chief's hand. Hannon grabbed his hand in pain, and everyone stared at Marcus in amazement. They had never seen anyone shoot like that. "Get out of here, Amata. Your father and I have to talk."

Without saying a word, Amata ran out of the room and headed for her father's office. The Overseer, who's right cheek was already beginning to swell, stepped forward. "You have balls, I'll give you that. But you will never leave this Vault.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do. Now, give me the password to your computer."

The Overseer sneered. "Oh, is that all? Perhaps you'd like for me to hold the door open for you as well. I have watched over this Vault all my life, and I will not let a bastard like you…"

Marcus trained his gun on Hannon, targeted his left hand with the VATS, and fired a bullet directly into it. The Chief screamed in pain, and Marcus pointed the gun directly at the Overseer's head. "Password! Now!"

The Overseer looked over at Hannon, and then let out a sigh. "Amata."

Marcus began to back away. He stared at Chief Hannon gripping his hand, and the image of Jonas being murdered flashed into his mind. Marcus' blood began to boil at the thought of this murderer living while Jonas lay dead in his own blood. He pointed the gun at Hannon. "This is for Jonas!" Marcus put three shots into Chief Hannon's chest. The body armor never had a chance of stopping the 10mm rounds at such close range, and Hannon slumped down on the floor. He lingered for only a few seconds before dying. The Overseer stared at Marcus in shock and disbelief. "You murdering bastard!"

The statement took Marcus aback for a moment. It is true that unlike the case of O'Brian and Richards, he had killed Chief Hannon in cold-blood. But is it wrong to kill a murderer? Marcus would ponder this later. He stepped out of the office, closed the door, and smashed the operating mechanizing trapping the Overseer. Marcus ran down the corridor and entered the Overseer's office where he found Amata shaking.

"Marcus!" She screeched as she threw her arms around him. "I don't know what he would've done if you hadn't…."

Marcus caressed her hair as he held her. "Shhhh, it's alright. You're safe now."

Amata released him and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I've never seen my father like that before. They're saying that Jonas is dead."

Marcus looked down at the ground. "It's true. I saw Chief Hannon kill him."

Amata's hands covered her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

Marcus tried to push the site out of his mind. "Let's get that door open."

"Do you have the password?"

Marcus walked over to the computer terminal. "Yes. It's your name." He typed on the terminal and the floor underneath the Overseer's desk opened, revealing a secret tunnel.

"That's it," Amata said, "let's go."

"Wait." Marcus began scanning some files on the terminal. "There are scouting reports on your father's computer."

Amata looked over his shoulder. "Scouting reports! You mean from outside?"

Marcus nodded. "It looks like he sent out a scouting party last year to see what was happening on the surface. I need to download these." He removed a memory chip from his PIPBOY and plugged it into the computer. Amata stood there in disbelief as she pondered what she had just heard. Scouts! People had actually left the Vault and were allowed back in. She wonders what other lies her father had been telling her.

"There," Marcus removed the memory chip and placed it back into his PIPBOY. "all finished." He took Amata's hand. "Let's get out of here."

They quickly made their way through the secret tunnel, and emerged into the chamber that housed the main door. The room was barely lit, and it was clear that the door controls had not been used in a long time.

Marcus stepped up to the controls and placed his hand on the lever. He looked at Amata. "Here we go." He pulled the lever down and stood back. An alarm sounded as the giant cog, which acted as the Vaults main and only door to the outside world, was pulled open by a massive hydraulic arm, and was then rolled out of the way. Both Marcus and Amata stood there and stared out into the dark unknown. Amata turned and stared into his eyes. "You have to go."

Marcus looked back at the entrance. "Come with me."

Amata began to choke up. "I can't, I can't leave the Vault like this. The people will need me to reason with my father."

Marcus held her head between his hands. "I need you!"

Amata couldn't bear to see the hurt in his eyes, and she finally surrendered to her tears. "No, these people need me more." She gently placed her hands on his. "Whatever is out there, you will overcome it, I know you will."

Marcus felt a knot forming in his throat. Everything had happened so fast today that all he could think about was getting out of here. Now he realized what that meant-and his heart was breaking. "I'm never going to see you again, am I."

Amata shook her head. This was agony. "I don't know." She managed to say. She through her arms around him again, and they held each other as tight as they could.

The sound of yelling and footsteps jarred them out of the moment. Amata looked at the secret tunnel, then back to Marcus. "They're coming! You have to go, now!"

They kissed one last time. Marcus did not want to let her go. "I love you, Amata."

"I love you, too."

The footsteps were getting louder and Amata pushed Marcus towards the exit. "Go, Please!"

Marcus took one last look at the love of his life, and then ran into the darkness.


	3. Following in His Footsteps

Following in His Footsteps

Marcus tripped and fell face first almost the moment he entered the cave. At first he thought it was a stick or tree branch, but after turning on his PIPBOY light, he realized he was lying in a pile of bones. A scream escaped his voice as he struggled to stand up. There were over a dozen human skeletons lying at the foot of the Vault's entrance. Among them were faded signs which read: "_Let us in motherfuckers!" _And, "_We're dying assholes!" _Marcus was horrified; they had died trying to get into the Vault after the bombs fell.

He continued making his way through the cave. A few feet up ahead he could see a dilapidated wooden door with light peering through its slits: a kind of light he had never seen before. From behind him he heard the Vault's alarm go off again, followed by the sound of the giant cog being pushed shut; then there was silence. Marcus was relieved that they had decided not to follow him, but at the same time his heart sank as the realization set in that he would never see his home again. That he would never see Amata again.

Pushing all of those thoughts aside, Marcus focused on the door in front of him. He braced himself and pushed it open. The sunlight was more intense than he could ever have imagined. The brightest florescent bulbs in the Vault couldn't compare, and it seemed like forever before his eyes finally adjusted enough that he could see clearly. When he did, Marcus could not believe what he was looking at. From his vantage point he could see most of Washington DC in the distance-and it was completely destroyed. Every building was either a blasted out empty shell of its former self, or it was a pile of rubble and twisted metal. Whole sections of the roads and overpasses had been blown apart. Just below him was what used to be a small suburb, and except for a few houses, everything had been burned to the ground. There was no green, no plant life, and every tree that Marcus could see was dead.

Marcus sat down on a rock and took in the view. He had seen pictures of what Washington DC looked like before the war, and he had heard about how devastating nuclear weapons could be; but he never imagined how horrible it really was out here. The term Capital Wasteland was no exaggeration, and Marcus felt sick about it. Whatever it was that compelled his father to leave the Vault and come out here had better be damn important.

Marcus stood up; he knew sitting on that rock was not getting him any closer to finding his father. He looked at his PIPBOY and accessed the scouting reports he downloaded from the Overseer's terminal. It seems there was a small settlement called Megaton north east from the Vault. Marcus stared in that direction and he spotted what looked like a crude looking wall made up of large pieces of scrap metal; some of them looked like they had been wings to an airplane. "Well, I guess that's a good place to start." He said to himself.

Marcus carefully made his way down from the ledge and onto the road which lead into the destroyed suburb. Hoping this road would lead to Megaton, Marcus slowly walked through the burnt out neighborhood, which according to his PIPBOY's old world map was called Springvale. Marcus took a moment to reload his 10mm pistol. He didn't know who or what was out there, and he wasn't about to take any chances. He had barely made it halfway down the road when conformation of his fear showed itself: three armed individuals, wearing spiked armor, appeared from behind a pile of rubble. One was armed with a .38 pistol, the second was armed with a hunting rifle and the third was holding a baseball bat with metal spikes sticking out if it.

"Well lookie what we have here." The Raider with the rifle said. "Alright pretty boy, hand over all your stuff and we'll kill you quickly. If you try anything, we'll cut you up into little pieces and feed you to the molerats."

Marcus didn't like the sound of either alternative. Activating his VATS, he first targeted the Raider with the rifle; he was obviously the greatest threat. Next, he targeted the one with the pistol, and saved the idiot with the bat for last. He locked in the targets and fired. The Raiders with firearms were struck down before they could get a shot off. The one with the spiked bat charged at Marcus, but he only took three steps before a bullet tore through his chest. Marcus breathed a sigh of relieve and lowered his pistol. Pain suddenly shot through his left shoulder as a .308 round slammed into it from behind and exited the front. Marcus screamed in agony and fell to the ground. The two Raiders who had been hiding on the other side of the road were now standing over him. He tried to raise his pistol, but one of the Raiders slammed his boot down on Marcus' arm.

One of the Raiders was armed with a sniper rifle. "Let's just kill this little fuck already!"

"No," the other said. "this bitch just killed three of our guys. Let's take'em back to the school and teach him a lesson!"

They never got the chance. The first Raider's head suddenly exploded, splattering his friend and Marcus with blood and brains. Another shotgun blast rang out, and the last Raider met the same fate.

Just before he passed out from the blood loss, Marcus could see a new face looking down at him: a horrible, deformed face. The man, at least he thought it was a man, spoke with a low, gravelly voice: "Welcome to the Wasteland, smoothskin."

* * *

Marcus finally awoke in what appeared to be a make-shift infirmary. As he tried to sit up, pain shot through his shoulder, and he realized that an IV was in his right arm. An African-American man with white hair suddenly appeared from behind the curtain. "Hey now, lay back down!"

Marcus did as he was told. The doctor, at least Marcus hoped he was a doctor, looked over his wound. "You're either the luckiest or stupidest son-of-a-bitch out there, kid."

Marcus didn't quite know how to answer that. If this man was a doctor, he was the rudest doctor Marcus had ever seen. "Where am I?"

The doctor finished checking the wound. "Megaton."

Marcus' eyes were now fully open. "Megaton! The settlement?"

The doctor gave Marcus a side look. "Kid, did you receive a head injury too? Yes, this is Megaton, and I am Doc Church the town's physician." Doc Church began to prepare a stimpak. "You're lucky that Quinn happened by when he did, otherwise those Raiders would have used your head as a decoration."

Marcus flinched as Doc Church injected him with the stimpak just above his shoulder. "Quinn?"

"Right here."

Marcus recognized the deformed face immediately as the one that saved him from the Raiders. Quinn resembled a walking corpse more than a man. His skin (the skin that was left on his face) was yellow with green sores. From what Marcus could see, it looked as though this person had been exposed to an un-godly amount of radiation. "What's the matter, smooth skin? You never seen a ghoul before?"

Marcus looked at Doc Church, then back at Quinn. "Actually, no I haven't."

Doc Church sighed. "I knew it, a head injury."

"No, no, no, it's true; I have never seen-people like you before."

Quinn chuckled. "Funny, not many smooth skins refer to us as people. Where'd you come from, kid?"

"I came from Vault 101."

Both men looked at each other. "I thought I'd recognized that jump suit of yours." The ghoul said. "I haven't seen one in a long time."

Now Marcus was the one surprised. "You've seen people dressed like me before?"

Quinn nodded. "Yep, a few years ago while I was here trading. I've never seen any on the road back to Underworld, though."

Marcus braced himself up on his elbows. "Underworld? What's that?"

"It's a city of ghouls deep inside the ruins of D.C. It's the only place where we ghouls can get a fair break. I'm the only one who scavenges this far west. I bring back what I can to keep the place going."

Marcus was at a loss for words. "Thank you, for saving my life."

Quinn shrugged. "I actually was planning on staying out of it, until I saw how you took down those first three raiders. Never seen shootin' like that and I've been around for a long time."

Marcus took a quick glance down at his PIPBOY. Quinn continued: "So I figured you were someone worth saving."

Marcus was finally able to sit up, despite hearing a grunt from Doc Church. "Again thank you. I'm sorry but I have no way to repay you."

Quinn chuckled again. "Don't worry kid. Besides," he pulled out the sniper rifle that Marcus had been shot with, "I got plenty of loot from those two raiders I greased. I left the loot from the other three over there, it's yours. After all, they were your kills."

Marcus shifted slightly in his bed. Quinn talked about looting bodies like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then again, this was the Capital Wasteland. He shook Quinn's hand. "Thank you, Quinn. I hope to see you again."

"Remember, Underworld is in the old Natural History Museum in downtown D.C. If you're ever in the neighborhood and need a rest, stop by. They let smoothskins in as long as they're 'civil'."

With that, Quinn walked out of the infirmary. Doc Church appeared at his bed side and placed his hand on Marcus' chest. "Now lay back down!"

Marcus did as he was told. "I guess I owe you a thank you as well, Doc."

"You owe me more than that, kid. Unlike that ghoul, I need to replace the supplies I used to save your butt. So some of that loot, I'll be taking off your hands as soon as you're discharged."

Marcus looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. 'Welcome to the Wasteland', he thought.

* * *

Doc Church released Marcus around four o'clock that day. After the doctor had taken some of the 'loot' off his hands, Marcus was left with a .38 pistol, twelve rounds of ammo for the pistol, a serrated knife and twenty caps. Marcus wasn't sure how useful the caps where, until Doc Church told him they were used for money. As he stood outside the clinic, Marcus took in his first sight of Megaton. The town had been built inside a huge crater, and it didn't take long for him to see what had caused it: a huge un-exploded bomb was lying in the middle of it. No doubt it had been there since the Great War, over two-hundred years ago. There were three levels of catwalks and structures all around the crater, and the metal wall surrounding all of it was at least forty feet high.

Making sure both his 10mm and .38 pistols were secured to his belt, Marcus began exploring the town. He didn't get very far before a tall man wearing a leather duster and cowboy hat approached him. "Name's Lucas Simms, town sheriff. And mayor too, when the need arises."

Marcus shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sheriff. My name's Marcus Lincoln."

Simms was surprised. "You mean like the President?"

Marcus chuckled; it wasn't the first time he had to explain this. "No, no relation. A different Lincoln clan."

"Well your polite and well spoken, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine."

"I'm trying to find my father. He's about my height, middle-aged, Caucasian with black hair and brown eyes; people say he looks a lot like me."

Lucas thought about it for a moment. "No, can't say that I have. You might want to ask Moriarty; he runs the local saloon up there." He pointed towards the right corner of the town. "But be careful when talking to Moriarty; that man has ice in his veins. Plus he's got his hands into just about every nefarious business in the Waste."

Marcus stared at the shack with the large sign which read 'Moriarty's', then back to Simms. "Then why don't you arrest him?"

Simms stared down at the ground before answering. "It's….more complicated than that."

Marcus could see that the sheriff was uncomfortable talking about the saloon order and changed the subject. "So, what's the deal with the bomb?"

"Not much to say. It's been there since the Great War. A bunch of settlers who couldn't get into the nearby Vault started to build around it, and well, here we are."

Marcus' mind flashed back to the pile of skeletons he had encountered just outside the Vault's entrance. "Seems like a strange place to build a town."

Lucas shrugged. "I guess they figured most other people would leave them alone."

Marcus nodded. "Well, thank you sheriff."

Simms turned and headed back towards the town's main entrance. Marcus headed off in the direction of Moriarty's saloon. After climbing two catwalks he made it to the entrance and pushed the doors open. The first thing he saw was another ghoul standing behind the bar, hitting the top of a radio. "Goddamn radio won't work! Come on! Why won't….this thing….work?"

A woman, who Marcus guess was a prostitute, was standing next to the ghoul smoking a cigarette. "I told you Gob, it's not the radio; it's Galaxy News Radio. The signal's fucked up."

Marcus took a look around as he sat down at the bar. There were about a dozen people in the place. Most were drinking; some were obviously drunk, while a few others were there for some 'company'. In the corner Marcus could see a man dressed in a rather impressive suit, with a dress hat and sunglasses. Just off to his right was a young woman who didn't look like the kind of person who frequents places like this. She was very attractive, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She must've thought the same thing about Marcus, because she'd been watching him since he'd walked in.

Marcus decided to start with the barkeep. "Say, Gob was it? How much for a drink?"

Gob looked at Marcus in disbelief. "Wait? You're not gonna hit me? Yell at me? Not even berate me a little bit?"

Marcus was taken aback. "I…wasn't planning on it."

Gob let out a small sigh. "Well, now that's a surprise! I'm used to every asshole smoothskin in this town giving me shit 'cause I look like a corpse."

Marcus took a quick look around. "You mean your boss let's people treat you like that?"

Gob let out a bitter laugh. "Moriarty? Half the time he's the one slappin' me around. Say you're alright kid. Here," he reached underneath the bar and removed a beer, "this ones on the house. Don't tell Moriarty, he'd have my head if he found out."

Marcus took the beer, the first one he'd ever seen, and took a swig. His first instinct was to spit it out, but he didn't want to seem rude or weak. After forcing it down, he addressed Gob again. "Gob, I'm looking for my father. A middle-aged man looks a lot like me."

Gob shook his head. "Nah, haven't seen him. You might want to talk about Moriarty."

As if on cue, the man himself walked up behind Gob and slapped the back of his head. "I don't pay ya to chit-chat with the customers!"

Gob rubbed his head and fought back the urge to say: 'You don't pay me at all, asshole!' Instead he said: "Yes sir.", and scurried away.

Marcus' fist began to clench; he hated bullies, and that's exactly what this Moriarty was. "You're Moriarty, I presume?"

Colin Moriarty turned and faced his newest patron-and nearly fell over. "My god... it's you! The little baby boy, all grown up..." he said with a laugh. "Persistent little bastard, ain't ya? Then and now, it would seem. Oh, how the years fly by… It's been a long time, kid."

"I'm sorry, but we've never met." Said Marcus.

"Oh yeah we have, kid. I met you and your dad back when you were a wee babe."

Marcus nearly jumped off the stool. "You knew my father? Is he here?"

"Oh, yer daddy passed through here, all right. Here and gone. Got what he came for and left."

Marcus' heart sank with disappointment. "What did you mean when you said you met me and my dad before? We were both born in Vault 101."

Moriarty burst out laughing. "Is that… is that, what your father told ya? That he was born in that hole? Oh, the lies we tell to those we love."

Marcus' blood began to boil. "You're lying! My father and I were born in the vault!"

By now everyone in the bar had stopped talking and was now focused on Marcus and Moriarty.

"Ya know, I heard about the brainwashin' that goes on down there. 'All hail the Overseer! We're born in the vault, we die in the vault! And all that other assorted lunacy.' Kid, you've got better programmin' than our own Deputy Weld. Better wise up. Wouldn't want anyone... takin' advantage of ya, hmm?"

Marcus began feeling sick to his stomach. This had to be a lie, it _had _to be. But somewhere, deep down, he knew this scum was telling the truth. He clenched both his fist and stared down at the bar. There was silence as everyone waited to see what he would do. "Look, could you tell me where he went, please?"

Moriarty crossed his arms. "Well that depends. You see, trade is how many of us here in the Wasteland make a livin', and information is value. And that means it can to be traded."

"What do you want?" Marcus muttered.

"You're a nice kid, so let's say….five hundred caps."

Marcus snapped. He walked around the bar and stood face-to-face with Moriarty. "I'm through playing games!" He drew his 10mm pistol and shoved it in Moriarty's face. Everyone sitting at the bar stood up and backed away. "You tell me, or I'll splatter your brains all over this dump!"

Moriarty raised his hands and smiled. "Kid, you're in over your head."

The beer bottle came smashing down on top of Marcus' head, nearly knocking him unconscious. The two body guards were lying in wait in the back of the saloon. Marcus slammed against the bar and turned, but the 10mm was knocked from his hand. The two men had him cornered and began to punch him in his face and stomach. For a moment, his mind was back in Vault 101, to the many fights he's had with Butch and his Tunnel Snakes gang. He gritted his teeth and swung his right arm, hitting one of his attackers in the head with his PIPBOY. The second attacker threw a punch, but Marcus ducked and the body guard's fist slammed into the wall. As he screamed in pain, Marcus kicked him in the groan, and then smashed a whiskey bottle over his head. But the other body guard had recovered from Marcus' counter attack, and slammed his knee into Marcus' stomach; knocking the wind out of him.

Marcus fought hard, but it was not enough. By the time it was over, Marcus could hardly stand, and the two men who attacked him were holding him up in front of their boss. "By all rights I should kill ya," he said while holding Marcus' 10mm pistol, "but I won't. I'll chalk this little incident up to you being young and rash." He placed the barrel of the gun under Marcus' chin. "I own this town, understand! Not Lucas Simms, me! If ya ever raise your hands to me again I will feed you to the mirlurks. Let go of him."

The two body guards released Marcus, and he was barely able to remain standing. Moriarty punched him so hard that Marcus went flying out of the saloon's main doors and fell flat on his back.

He lay there, in the blistering sun. He could hear people laughing from inside the saloon, no doubt at his expense. A shadow suddenly fell upon him, and Marcus was staring at a man with an eye patch over his right eye. "What happened, kid?" He asked with a smile. "You forget to tip'em?"


	4. Power of the Atom

Power of the Atom

Billy Creel, at least that's what he called himself, was sitting at the Brass Lantern Bar n' Grill next to a black and blue Marcus. Jenny Stahl, the owner of the Brass Lantern, handed Billy an ice pack, who handed it to Marcus. "Thank you." He muttered. He placed the ice on the right side of his face, which was so swollen his eye was nearly shut. Marcus' nose and lip finally stopped bleeding, but the back of his head had to be bandaged.

"I'll say kid," Billy began, "you got some guts standin' up to Moriarty like that. No brains- but guts."

Marcus would've smirked if it didn't hurt so much. Jenny Stahl handed him a bowl of noodles. "On the house."

Marcus looked at her through his one good eye in amazement. "What for?"

Jenny leaned over the bar. "Anybody who can stand up to that creep is okay in my book. Word is you fought pretty good."

Marcus replied with a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, you should see the other guys." He placed the icepack on the back of his head. "I thought he was just a low-life saloon owner."

Billy took a quick look around. "That's just a front, kid. The fact is Moriarty is in with some very dangerous folks."

"Like who?" Marcus asked.

"Talon Company, to name a few." Billy took a sip from his glass. "They some bad umbrae's. They take any rotten job for the right price. Killing, kidnaping, sabotage, ya' name it."

Marcus tried to take a sip of his noodles and winced when the pain hit his lip. "Were those two Talon Company?"

Jenny laughed. "Those two! They're just scum. That one with the eye patch, Jericho, he's a former Raider. Now he's just Moriarty's garbage boy."

Marcus rubbed the back of his head as he remembered it was Jericho who broke the bottle over it. "So Moriarty has dealings with Raiders too?"

Billy took another nervous look around. "He doesn't tell'em how to run things, but, and these just be rumors now, but every Raider from here to Evergreen Milles, and all the way up to the Republic of Dave gives him ten percent of their Jet profits."

"What's Jet?" Marcus asked.

"Drugs, kid. Jet, Med-X, Psycho-really bad stuff." Billy said.

Marcus forced himself to eat another spoon full of noodles. He hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and he was starving. "I guess Lucas Simms was right when he said arresting Moriarty would be complicated."

Both Billy and Jenny became very somber at that moment. Marcus looked at both of them. "What is it?"

Jenny was the first to answer. "It's not just because of his connections. Moriarty has….information on a lot of people. _Personnel_ information."

Marcus looked over at Billy, who was staring at the ground. "You mean blackmail."

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, on that little computer he has in the back of his saloon."

It was as if a light bulb suddenly went on inside Marcus' mind. "Where exactly is this computer?"

"In the little room just behind and to the right of the bar." Billy said. "It's his office and sleep 'in quarters."

Despite the pain on his lips, a smile appeared on Marcus' face. "Thank you both. Is there a place I could crash for the night, and maybe get cleaned up?"

Jenny took away his now empty bowl. "You can sleep in the Common House to the left down that way. As far as a shower goes, afraid we can't help you there?"

"Why's that?" Marcus asked.

"Cause the old water treatment plants been actin' up." Billy said as he pointed over his shoulder. "The whole town's been on water rations ever since. I mean, you could bath with irradiated water, but I wouldn't recommend it."

Marcus thanked them again and headed for the Common House. While he was disappointed about the shower, his spirits were still high. The sun was setting, and in a few hours he would put his plan in motion.

* * *

Moriarty's saloon didn't close until midnight, and then it was another hour before all of the lights went out. Marcus waited until after three before he carefully made his way up the catwalk and around the back of the saloon. Just as he figured, there was a locked back door leading inside. Marcus spied through a small rivet hole in the rusted wall of the building. On one end of the back room was Moriarty, fast asleep on a cot. At the other end, nearest to the door, emanating a soft green glow, was a computer!

'Jackpot.' Marcus thought. Not seeing either of Moriarty's thugs, he quickly went to work picking the lock on the door. During their time of sneaking around the Vault, Amata had taught him how to do this with a couple of bobby pins. It was just blind luck that he still had a few in the pocket of his jumpsuit when he escaped. Marcus heard a click and froze; waiting for the sound of footsteps. There were none. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned the nob and cracked the door open. He listened again, and there was still only silence. He opened the door a little more and stuck his head inside. Moriarty was still fast asleep. Marcus moved a little faster now and went to work on the computer. The PIPBOY 3000 was equipped with a universal, wireless USB plug in that allowed it to interact with any computer. He spent his hours waiting in the Common House experimenting with his new device, and discovered it had a program designed to hack into most computers.

It didn't take him long to hack into this one. Marcus took a quick look over at Moriarty: still asleep. There was a file marked James Lincoln which Marcus opened. It gave details of their first meeting nineteen years ago, confirming what he had told Marcus about his birth. He quickly scrolled through to the next entry. According to the file, Moriarty gave his father directions to some place called Galaxy New Radio. Marcus immediately remembered hearing Gob and the bar's prostitute, Nova, talking about the radio station.

Marcus continued to scroll through and realized that Moriarty had files on nearly everyone in town, including Billy and Jenny. Quickly he began deleting every one of the files. To Marcus it seemed like it was taking forever, but it was only a minute. He removed the plug in and headed for the door when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. There was a night stand next to the sleeping Moriarty, and on that night stand was Marcus' 10mm pistol. Common sense was screaming for him not to risk it, that he should take this information on his father and get out! But that was his pistol, the last thing Amata had given him, and he wanted it back.

Marcus crouched low and began slowly approaching the table. Silently he pulled out the cerate knife he got off the dead Raider. If Moriarty woke up, Marcus wanted to be ready. He was standing over him now, and Marcus removed the 10mm from the table. For a few moments he stood there and stared down at the old gangster. He could end Moriarty's reign of terror right here and now. All of the misery and lives ruined could end with one move of his finger.

But as he stared down at his gun, the image of Amata flashed into his mind. Marcus realized that while he would be doing the world a favor by killing this scum, there was no honor in doing it this way. He stared down again at Moriarty. 'Someday,' he thought, 'but not today.'

Marcus, however, was not going to just slink out. He quietly poured ashes from a tray on the table where his gun had been sitting. He used the ashes to write the number: 101.

* * *

Marcus was halfway down the catwalk when a rather beautiful young woman stopped him in his tracks. "And where are you off too this late in the evening?"

Marcus stood there frozen. This woman with blonde hair and blue eyes looked harmless, but he couldn't be sure who in this town was working for Moriarty. "Who wants to know?"

"I'm Lucy West, and I've been meaning to talk to you since I saw you at the bar."

Marcus started to blush. "Yeah, it seems like everyone saw me there." He stared at her face again and had a sudden recollection. "I remember seeing you sitting in the corner, at a table by yourself."

Lucy betrayed a slight smile as she was flattered that he had remembered seeing her. "That's right. I wanted to talk to you then. I need your help."

Marcus was not expecting this. "Well, I'm sorry Ms. West but I am very busy…."

"Then maybe I should tell Moriarty that you had broken into his saloon."

Damn! Marcus was hoping that she hadn't seen him. His mind was racing at what to do next. He looked down at the knife still in his hand and decided to play tough. "Or may I should just kill you and Moriarty would never know."

Lucy shook her head. "You could, but I don't think you will."

Marcus stepped closer to her. "And why is that?"

Lucy's blue eyes met his. "I see many things in your eyes, but murder is not one of them."

The image of Chief Hannon breathing his last after Marcus put three bullets into him, flashed into his mind. "You have no idea what I am capable of." He whispered.

Lucy stood her ground. Finally, Marcus looked away and sighed in defeat. "Is there some where we can talk in private?"

Lucy smiled. "My place. Come on."

* * *

Lucy's home was more like a large, rusted, two-story shack. In the first floor living area, there was a small table, a few chairs, and a refrigerator that did not work. Upstairs was a small room with a dresser and bed. Lucy led Marcus inside. "Here, sit down." She made her way over to the sink next to the refrigerator. "Do you want some water?"

Marcus sat down at the table. "Yes please."

Lucy smiled. "Polite, too. I like that." She filled two glasses and brought them over. "I'm from a town called Arefu, it's to the north from here. " She handed one of the glasses to Marcus. "My parents and brother still live there, and I have been sending messages to them via the caravans that travel between here and there."

Marcus took a sip from his glass. "Let me guess: you haven't heard back from them."

Lucy nodded. "It's been four weeks. It could be nothing, but I need someone to travel with me so that I can see for myself."

"And you want me to be your escort?" Marcus asked.

"That's right."

Marcus finished off the glass of water. "Okay. I found out that Moriarty gave my father directions to some place called Galaxy News Radio, ever hear of it?"

Lucy was a little surprised at the change of subject. "Yeah, I used to listen to it all the time, but the signals been pretty bad lately. I love the disc-jockey Three Dog."

Marcus nodded. "Do you know where it is?"

Lucy finished off her water. "Yeah, it's in the ruins of old D.C. It's pretty hard to get to, though. With all of the wreckage and collapsed buildings the only way to get to it is through the old metro tunnels."

Marcus looked down at his PIPBOY. Even with the old world maps, there is no way he could navigate through the metro tunnels on his own. "Alright, then. I take you to Arefu, and you take me to Galaxy News Radio."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I thought the deal was you take me to Arefu in exchange for not reporting you to Moriarty."

Marcus gave her a coy smile. "Now you're lying. I don't think you like Moriarty any more than I do."

Lucy tried to maintain her composure, but it was no use. He was right: she hated Moriarty as much as everyone else in this town. Marcus stood up, he took her silence as a yes. "It's settled then. First to Arefu, then to GNR."

Lucy nodded. "When do you want to leave?"

Marcus glanced at the front door. "Well, I left a little calling card at Moriarty's, so if I don't leave before dawn I never will."

Lucy understood. "Okay. Just give me a couple of minutes to pack."

Marcus took the time to check the supplies in his backpack. He still had most of the stimpaks, first-aid kit, food and water that he took from the Vault. He had nine rounds of 10mm in his pistol, and another full magazine with fifteen rounds. He checked the .38 pistol and loaded six of his twelve rounds in it.

Lucy came down the stairs holding her own backpack. She went to the refrigerator and began filling it with food and bottles of purified water. She handed two bottles to Marcus, who placed them in his bag. Lucy filled an army can tin with water from her sink and hooked it onto her belt. "What kind of guns do you carry?"

"A 10mm and a .38."

Lucy began looking through a box on a book case. "You're in luck; I have a full magazine with 10mm rounds."

She tossed the magazine to the Marcus, who was ecstatic to have another fifteen rounds of ammo. "Won't you be needing them?"

"Nah, I have this." She reached inside the box and pulled out a sawed-off shot gun and a box with twenty rounds of 12 gauge. "Are you any good with a gun?"

Marcus took a moment before answering. "I fired a few shots."

* * *

It was just after 4:00am when Marcus and Lucy headed out. As they began walking towards Megaton's main entrance, Marcus heard something and stopped. "Wait!" He whispered. "Did you hear that?"

Lucy stopped and listened. It was faint, but she could hear it. "Yes. Where's it coming from?"

Marcus leaned over the catwalk and strained to hear it again. "Down there, towards the….bomb!"

Lucy also leaned over the railing. The darkness was giving way to twilight, but she still could not see. "It could be the Children of Atom."

Marcus looked over at her. "Who are they?"

"A cult that worships the bomb like a god. They believe it created this new world and that 'we should embrace his power and glory'."

Marcus cringed as she recited the cult's proclamation. The thought of anyone worshipping a weapon that killed billions of people was, to him, beyond crazy. "Do they worship this late at night?"

Lucy shook her head. "Not usually."

Now Marcus really wanted to investigate this. "Wait here." He quickly made his way down the catwalk towards the center of the crater. As he approached the noise was getting louder and more distinctive: it sounded like someone working with tools. As he got closer, he could see a man dressed in a rather expensive suit and hat, closing a panel on the bomb. Something was defiantly wrong. Just as the man turned around, Marcus pounced!

He slammed the man up against the bomb and held him by his shirt collar. When the stranger reached for his pistol Marcus head butted him, breaking the man's nose and causing him to drop the gun.

"What were you doing to the bomb?" Marcus yelled.

The man winced in agony as blood ran down his chin. "Let me go you little runt…."

But Marcus would not let go. By now Lucy had made it down the catwalk. "What happened?"

"He was doing something to the bomb!"

The man, who Marcus recognized as the same one sitting in Moriarty's saloon, suddenly calmed down and changed his composure. "Nonsense! Now why would I do something like that?"

"What's going on here?"

Marcus turned and saw Lucas Simms arrive, holding his AK-47.

"I caught this guy messing with the bomb, sheriff."

The man laughed. "Sheriff this is all a big misunderstanding. Please tell this young man to let me go, so that I may go on my way."

Marcus shoved him back up against the bomb. "You seem to be in a hurry to leave! Why is that, Mr…?"

"Burke," the man said, "and I have a prior engagement, that's all."

"You do seem pretty nervous, Burke." Simms observed.

By now more people in Megaton were waking up and coming out of their homes. Marcus tossed Burke aside and threw the panel open. The glowing red timer counting down from two minutes was all he needed to see. "He's rigged the bomb to explode! We have less than two minutes!"

Screams and gasps erupted from the crowd. Burke tried to run, but Simms hit him in the gut with the butt of his rifle. Marcus grabbed Burke off the ground. "Shut it down, now!"

Burked coughed as he tried to speak. "It's too late! We have to get out of here…."

"You're not going anywhere! Sheriff," he through Burke over to Simms, "hold him. Everyone else get out of here!"

Pandemonium erupted. By now everyone in town was awake and started to panic. Many made a dash for the main entrance, while others saw the futility of it and simply dropped to their knees and started sobbing.

Marcus inserted his PIPBOY's plug-in into the device's USB port, and frantically began pushing on the touch screen. Lucas Simms dragged Burke over to him. "Do you know what you're doing, kid?"

Marcus let out a nervous chuckle. "I've a….hacked into computers," he stopped to wipe sweat off his brow, "never bombs." He looked at the timer: one minute to go. A moment later, he was in. "The abort sequence is password activated."

Simms grabbed Burke and practically hoisted him off the ground by his shirt. "What's the password?"

Burke was beginning to panic. "I….I can't…."

Marcus screamed. "Thirty seconds, Burke, and we're all dead!"

Burke stared at the timer: 29, 28, 27….

"Alright, alright! Tenpenny, Tenpenny! One word!"

Marcus punched in the password, and the timer stopped at nineteen.

* * *

Everyone who was standing around the bomb was silent. All that could be heard was their heavy breathing and hearts as they pounded in their chest. Marcus, who felt like he was going to throw up, leaned against the bomb. It was then he realized that he was covered in sweat. Lucas, who was still restraining Burke, conveyed the news to the rest of Megaton. "It's okay, people, he did it! He disarmed the bomb!"

Cheers rang out throughout the town, and soon Marcus was being mobbed by the residents. Just a few feet away, Lucy West had not moved. She had been frozen in place the entire time, unable to move as she watched Marcus disarm the bomb and save all of their lives. As she watched Marcus being thanked and slapped on the back by the people of Megaton, the shock and fear she felt gave way to another feeling: the kind a woman could only have for a man.

Marcus was still caught up in the thralls of celebration when he noticed Colin Moriarty, staring down at him from the catwalk, flanked by his two thugs. A knot formed in Marcus' stomach. He knew Moriarty had discovered what he had done, and he slowly placed his hand on his pistol. Marcus and Moriarty continued to stare at each other, and Marcus prepared himself for the fight that was sure to come.

Only it didn't. Neither Moriarty nor his thugs made a move, and Marcus realized that stopping the bomb from going off made him the town hero. And since he had deleted all of his files, Moriarty did not have the leverage over the people of Megaton he had just a few hours ago. Marcus gave Moriarty a cocky smile and turned his back on him. Up on the catwalk, Colin Moriarty glared at the 101 emblazed on his back.


	5. Family

FAMILY

It was just after dawn when Marcus and Lucy West walked out of Megaton. After he had disarmed the bomb, Marcus carefully

removed Burke's device and the plutonium it was attached to. This made the bomb completely safe, and it was then that Lucas Simms

gave Marcus the deed and keys to his own house. It was nothing more than a rusted shack, no different from Lucy's, but at least

Marcus had a place where he could lay his head down. After removing the plutonium core, the members of the Children of Atom cult

dropped to their knees and began worshipping "the heart of Atom" as they called it. Not seeing the harm in it, Marcus handed the

core to them, and they promised to keep it in their shrine forever. There was one man, however, who did not hold Marcus in suck

high regard.

"Little bastard!" Colin Moriarty cursed as he smashed his computer terminal with his fist. "He thinks he can make a fool

out of me! ME!"

Moriarty's head bodyguard, Jericho, looked on as his boss fumed. "Let me and Sister take care of this little fuck once and

for all, boss."

Sister was the name of Moriarty's second bodyguard; an ex-slaver who once served Eulogy Jones in Paradise Falls. In the

underworld of organized crime, Moriarty and Eulogy were rivals, but they had maintained a truce for many years.

"No." Moriarty replied. "I may need you two here in case these sheep start thinkin' this town is actually theirs." He

opened a whiskey bottle and took a swig. "Call our friends in Talon Company and Paradise Falls. Tell them '1000 caps for the kid

from Vault 101 alive.'"

Jericho and Sister both looked at each other. "Alive?" Sister asked.

Moriarty nodded. "Yes. The girl he's with, I don't care what they do, but I want him alive!"

Jericho clenched his fist. He did not like this, but he knew better than to bite the hand that fed him...for now. "Alright

boss, we're on it."

Both of the hired thugs left. Moriarty sat down on his bed and took another swig of whiskey. It was clear his men did not

understand why he wanted the kid brought back alive. After all, killing this upstart would be easy. With a bounty like that, no one

in the wasteland would last very long. This kid had proven to be disrespectful, rash, sneaky, resourceful, and more importantly,

possessing a huge pair of balls. As Moriarty stared at the picture on his nightstand of a young woman with short red hair he thought:

'And that's exactly the kind of person I need.'

* * *

Marcus and Lucy had been walking for almost an hour when they encountered some local wildlife: a ten foot long radioactive ant

to be exact.

"Holy shit that's a big fucking ant!" Marcus yelled as the creature charged them. Quickly activating his V.A.T.S, Marcus targeted

it's head and fired three 10mm rounds into it. The bullets slowed the creature down, but it was still coming head on. When it was only a

few feet away, Lucy fired both barrels of her sawed-off shotgun, finally killing the ant.

Marcus lowered his gun and studied the creature. One of the scout reports he had downloaded contained a picture of a giant ant,

but nothing could have prepared him for this. "Unbelievable." He turned to Lucy. "Are all the insects out here this big?"

Lucy shook her head. "Not all of them, but enough to make life out here pretty dangerous."

Marcus continued to examine the ant. It's hide felt as tough as the Kevlar he was wearing; which explained why three shots from

his pistol barely slowed it down. He was going to need a bigger gun to take down monsters like this. For now he would have to aim for the

creature's weak spot. Marcus had read somewhere that ants where helpless without their antennas. Next time he would aim for them.

"We should really get going." Lucy said with unease in her voice. Marcus was not about to argue.

They walked well into the afternoon, stopping only to eat and quench their thirst. Thankfully they did not encounter any more creatures,

but soon a burned out structure came into view. According to the PIPBOY's old world map, this two-story building was once called: Kaelyn's

Bed and Breakfast. Marcus wasn't sure what that was, but as he and Lucy got closer they could see movement.

"Raiders!" Lucy said as she pushed Marcus to the ground behind a boulder.

"How do you know?" Marcus whispered.

Lucy removed an old pair of army binoculars from her bag and peaked just over the boulder. "Here, take a look."

Marcus took the binoculars and he zeroed in on the building. What he saw made him sick to his stomach. The outside and inside of

the bed and breakfast was decorated with mutilated bodies. On top of the what remained of the roof were severed heads on pikes. "My God!"

Marcus gasped. He forced himself to continue observing. "Looks like they're six of them." He lowered the binoculars and looked at Lucy.

"You think we can take'm?"

Lucy was taken by surprise by his question. "Most people try to avoid Raiders."

"Maybe," Marcus looked back towards the camp with a murderous stare. ",but I think we'd be doing the world a favor."

This was a side to Marcus that Lucy had not yet seen. It was puzzling to her, that Marcus would risk his life to avenge people

he didn't know. They were both good in a fight, but to attack a Raider camp...

"We would have to sneak up in them somehow." she said.

Marcus agreed. Surprise was the only advantage they would have. He looked around and saw only open ground between them and the

camp. He noticed that the bed and breakfast was resting at the foot of a hill that was not much taller than the building. If they could

get to the top if that hill, they would have the high ground and outflank the Raiders. Marcus looked over at Lucy. A plan was forming

in his head; he only hoped that she would go along with it. "I have a plan, but I need to ask you something."

"What?"

A slight grin unconscious appeared on Marcus' face. "What are you wearing underneath all if that?"

* * *

It didn't take long for the lookout to notice the blonde female approaching their camp. "Hey boss, I got movement at 12 o'clock!"

The Raider's leader picked up his binoculars. "Finally! I could use some action." He scanned the horizon and quickly spotted

the girl. She was alone, carrying a small pack and walking straight for them like she didn't have a care in the world. If that wasn't

strange enough, she was dressed in nothing but a bikini top and shorts.

"Holy shit!" the Raider salifated. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. If this was a Jet trip, then it was the best high he had

ever been on. "Come on boys, let's show this bitch a good time!"

The rest of the Raiders picked up their weapons and followed. Lucy was only a few yards away from the building when the Raiders stepped

outside. They stopped and stared at her like wolves eyeing a piece of meat. She quickly swallowed her fear and began to play her part.

"Hey boys!" she began tugging playfully on her bra strap. "What's a girl gotta do to get a place to sleep around here?"

The Raiders stood there dumbfounded. If this was not a dream, then this was the craziest bitch they had ever seen. Any reservations

they had evaporated when Lucy pulled down on the strap, revealing her left breast.

The Raiders began moving forward. Lucy forced herself to smile as the lead Raider was now face to face with her. "Oh yeah, baby!"

he said as he reached for her.

Three shots rang out in rapid succession, and three of the six Raiders were struck down. The lead Raider spun around and spotted

Marcus; perched on top of the hill overlooking the camp with his 10mm pistol in hand. He turned back to Lucy, who had just pulled her

sawed-off shotgun out of her bag. The blast blew the Raider's chest out; knocking him back several feet. Another Raider standing to Lucy's

left met the same fate as she emptied her second barrel. But the last Raider charged at her with a crowbar. "You dirty bitch!"

Marcus, unable to wait for the V.A.T.S to reset, took aim and opened fire. Four of the six rounds hit the Raider, who slammed into

Lucy and died on top of her. Marcus half ran and half slid down the hill and made his way over to her. "Are you alright?"

Lucy managed to push the dead Raider off of her and she quickly stood up. "I'm just PEACHY, thanks!"

Marcus was struck by her out burst; and the fact that both of her breast were exposed. During the brief ambush, he hadn't noticed

how beautiful she was. Now that it was over...

Lucy realized the state she was in and quickly crossed her arms. "Turn around!"

Marcus was snapped out of his trance. "Oh...um...sorry."

As Lucy began to put her cloths back on, a small smile appeared on her face. A few moments ago, when she had exposed herself to the Raiders,

she had felt dirty and degraded. But when Marcus had seen her, Lucy felt feminine and empowered. "Okay," she said as she buckled her belt,

"I'm decent again."

Marcus turned back around. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. Listen, there's a good chance these Raiders had friends, so we better get what we can and move on."

Marcus holstered his pistol. "Let's do it."

After searching the dead Raiders and their camp, the young travelers had a pretty good bounty. In addition to food and some purified

water, Marcus found a .32 caliper hunting rifle and thirty rounds of ammo to go along with it. The weapon reminded him of the BB gun he had

used growing up, and Marcus knew it would shoot straighter and farther than his pistol. Lucy managed to find twelve more rounds for her

sawed-off, along with a combat knife.

* * *

They continued walking and covered another three miles before they decided to stop and make camp for the night. While Lucy started a

fire, Marcus removed his boots and began rubbing his feet. They were covered in blisters and throbbing. "Man, I think I've walked more today

than in my entire life."

Lucy chuckled and sat down on the log next to him. "I'd imagine you didn't do much walking while living underground." Lucy removed a

bottle of water from her bag and tossed it to him. "What was it like, living in a Vault?"

Marcus took a sip of the precious water. "It was...nice. We always had plenty of food, clean water, clean cloths. We had everything

you could ever hope for."

Lucy took a drink from her cantine. "Wow! Sounds like paradise."

Marcus took another drink, then spit on the ground. "We had everything...except our freedom."

Lucy was surprised at his statement. "What do you mean?"

Marcus stared into the fire. "It's funny but, I didn't realise it until that day I escaped. Everything in the Vault seemed so perfect-

as long as everyone did what they were told. Everyone had a place, and as long as you stayed in it, everything was fine." His voice became

bitter as he continued. "The one time someone dared challenge the 'status quo', the Overseer and his goons showed their true colors."

Lucy listened to him intently. Though she could see how telling this story upset him, she continued to press. "What happened?"

Marcus took a deep breath. "I saw one of my best friends killed in front of me; all because he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to

know. I saw two guards gun down an unarmed man and his wife because they tried to leave. I killed them both to save the woman. Before I

escaped I caught up Chief Hannon, the man who murdered my friend. I put three bullets into his chest without hesitating. I did it for revenge

and nothing more." He looked over at Lucy. "And that makes me no better then them."

Lucy slowly reached out and touched his right arm. "He killed your friend. What you did...well, out here it would be considered

justice. Just like those Raiders we killed, this Chief Hannon had to be dealt with. If more people stepped up like you did, there would be

less evil in this world."

Marcus stared back at the fire. He hadn't thought about any of this since that terrible day, and it was just now beginning to hit him.

He had killed; for self defense and revenge. But was justice and revenge one in the same? Maybe it was sometimes. His father once said that:

'all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.' There was no doubt that killing those Raiders probably saved the lives of dozens of

people traveling that part of the wasteland. And maybe killing Chief Hannon would weaken the grip the Overseer had on his people. Still, in his

quest to destroy evil, would Marcus become evil himself? He rubbed his forehead: 'So many questions,' he thought.

Lucy decided that it was time to change the subject. "Were you allowed to, you know...see anyone?"

Marcus let out a small sigh of relief. "Yes. In fact we were encouraged to pro-create, but each couple was limited to only one child."

Lucy braced herself before asking the next question. "Where you ever...involved with anyone?"

This time Marcus smiled. "Yes. Amata Almodovar was her name."

Lucy's heart sank. "Oh. Were you married?"

"No we had to keep our relationship a secret. You see, she was the Overseer's daughter."

Lucy's eyes got wide. "That sounds dangerous."

Marcus nodded. "It was, but I think...that made it even more hotter."

Lucy could see the excitement in Marcus' eyes as he talked about his old flame-and it was beginning to annoy her. "Do you plan on seeing

her again?"

The excitement that was in his eyes quickly vanished. "I don't think I'll ever see her again. If I go back, they'll either shoot me on

sight or arrest me; then shoot me later."

Despite the tears forming in his eyes, Marcus looked over at Lucy. She was still holding his arm, and he realized that she had inched

closer to him during their conversation. Marcus stared into her blue eyes, made even more brilliant by the glow of the fire. Lucy slowly moved

in for a kiss, but at the last moment, Marcus backed up. "You um...should get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."

Lucy exhaled with disappointment. "Okay."

Marcus quickly stood up and walked over to the other side of the campfire. As he stood there staring into the darkness, he couldn't

help but wonder if he'd make the right choice with Lucy. She was beautiful, and she possessed a strength that he loved and admired-just like Amata.

Amata. He ached to see her so badly that it hurt. He looked over his shoulder at Lucy as she layed down for the night. It was true that he would

probably never see Amata again, and starting a relationship with Lucy West could be the beginning of something wonderful. But until his heart

could except what was in his head, Marcus would not start anything. It wouldn't be fair to Lucy, or to him.

He stared up at the moon, and he stood in awe at the awesome sight. But as he wiped his tears away, he would gladly never see the moon again

for one more chance to see Amata Almodovar.

* * *

At first light the two travelers continued north towards Arefu. As the approached the Potomac River, they were attacked by another giant ant.

This time Marcus used his hunting rifle and targeted the creature's antennas. The animal was sent into a frenzy, and this allowed Lucy to move in

and blast it with her sawed-off. By noon the overpass which the town rested on was within sight. "There it is! Home!"

Marcus could see the excitement in her eyes as they moved closer. But soon he could see a dark haze hovering over the town. "Is that smoke?"

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, and her excitement was replaced by a feeling of dread. Frantically she struggled for the binoculars in her

bag. "No, no, no, no!" She peered through the optics, and a knot formed in her stomach. The town of Arefu, her home, was burned to the ground.

She took off running, and Marcus had to push himself to the limit just to catch up with her.

Lucy made it to a small farm at the foot of the overpass owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ewers. There was nothing left but dead brahmin in a pen, and

the smoldering shell of the farm itself. Lucy sprinted up the ramp which led to the rest of the town. Marcus was right behind her with his rifle

at the ready.

"Mom! Dad! Ian!"

Marcus grabbed her by the arm. "Lucy wait!" He spun her around so that she faced him. "Whoever did this might still be here."

"But my family..."

"You will not help them if you're dead!" He countered. "Let's take it slow."

Lucy relented. She removed her sawed-off and they slowly entered the town. The first thing they came upon was a hastily constructed

barricade. Behind it were two bodies, on of which Lucy recognized immediately. "My God, it's Evan King!"

"Who is he?"

"Our 'mayor' for lack of a better term."

They kneeled down to examine the bodies. Evan King was still clutching a combat shotgun, which Marcus carefully removed.

"They look like they were killed by an animal." Lucy said.

Marcus could see why Lucy thought that. Both men had claw and bite marks all over them. "Maybe, but animals don't set fires."

Lucy stared up the road. "My families' house is just up ahead."

The West residence was still smoldering when Marcus kicked in the front door. The back half of the house had caved in, but it didn't

matter. The body of Ian West, Lucy's brother, was found just a few feet from the door; with an empty .38 in one hand and a bloodied knife in

the other. His body was in much the same shape as Evan King's; only this body appeared to have been...nawed upon. There was no sign of

Lucy's parents.

"Oh Ian!" Lucy cried as she dropped to her knees. Marcus placed his hand on her shoulder as she wept. "I'm sorry."

"I should've been here! I could've...I..."

"You would've been killed too."

"You don't know that!" Lucy snapped.

Marcus removed his hand. Deciding she needed time alone, Marcus explored the rest of the town. As he suspected, there were no survivors.

Marcus noticed a pair of legs sticking out from under a plank and he decided to investigate. He pulled the plank off the body, and smell of

burnt flesh hit his nostrils. The body was only partially burned, and this allowed Marcus to see the clothing that it was wearing. The jumpsuit

was in tatters, but there was no mistaking the three large numbers on the back: 106.

"Impossible!" Marcus said.

Lucy came up from behind him and stared at the body. "I don't recognize him."

"Is there a Vault nearby?" He asked.

"There's one south-west of here, but no ones ever come out of it."

'Until now', Marcus thought. "I think it's safe to say the whoever is in that Vault attacked your town; and took your parents."

Lucy grabbed Marcus' arm. "Then they may still be alive! We have to go to that Vault and find them!"

Marcus looked around once more at the devastation. "Lucy, they may not be alive by the time we get there."

"Please, you have to help me! You know the layout of these Vaults. Please! They're the only family I have left!"

Marcus stared into her tear filled eyes. He understood all too well the desperation in Lucy's voice. In one terrible moment she had lost

her home, her brother, and everyone she had ever known. And just as he would go to the ends of the earth to find his father, Lucy would stop

at nothing to find her parents. "Alright, I'll take you there."

Lucy threw her arms around him, and Marcus hugged her back. He didn't realize just how much he needed one until this moment.

* * *

Marcus and Lucy buried Ian West in the brahmin pen at the Ewer's farm. While Lucy said her final goodbyes, Marcus scavenged the town for

whatever he could find. He decided to keep Evan King's combat shotgun, figuring it would be the perfect weapon in the close quarters of the Vault.

He found two full ammo drums for the gun, each holding twelve rounds of 12 gauge buckshot. Aside from a crate of four frag grenades, there was

nothing if value left in the town. He made his way down the ramp and waited for Lucy. After a few minutes she joined him.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Lucy placed two fresh rounds inside her sawed-off and slapped it shut. Her grieve had given way to determination and blood lust.

"Let's go."


	6. The Morlocks

The Morlocks

The wooden door which led to the entrance of Vault 106 was not unlike the one outside Marcus' Vault. He watched the door from a small ditch that he and Lucy were in, looking for any signs of guards or patrols. There were none. Both Marcus and Lucy decided to wait until night fall to approach. Just after 7pm, the time had come.  
"Go." Marcus said.  
With their weapons ready the two travelers quickly made it to the wooden door. Lucy had her back against the mountain on the door's hinge side, Marcus was on the other. "One, two...three!"  
Lucy pulled the door open and Marcus stuck the barrel of his combat shotgun inside immediatly. Seeing only darkness, he took a chance and turned on his PIPBOY light. Still nothing. Slowly they made thier way into the cave, and Marcus was reminded of the horrible sight of skeletons outside the entrance of 101. Only now his eyes beheld a more shocking sight: the Vault door was wide open!  
"Impossible!" he whispered. This confirmed his worst fears that something terrible had happened down here; and Marcus was going to find out what.  
They walked through the entrance and the smell of death hit their nostrals. It was apparent to Marcus that the Vault's reactor (which Vault-Tec boasted would last for a thousand years) was running on emergency power only. Lying at the foot of the door controls were two skeletons, each one wearing a broken riot helmet and clutching a 10mm pistol. Marcus kneeled down and collected the few precious rounds still in the guns.  
"Are they...from Arefu?" Lucy asked.  
Marcus shook his head. "No. These skeletons are very old." He looked around the room and saw signs of battle: bullet holes and blood covered the walls. "They must've been trying to keep people from escaping."  
Lucy looked back at the openned cog. "I don't think they did a very good job."  
They continued to decend deeper into the Vault and entered the lab. The place was a total reck. Computer terminals and equipment of all kinds were smashed and thrown about. There were two skeletons in the room; one on a gurnie and the other on the floor. Marcus studied the one on the gurnie, and although he wasn't a medical examiner, it was clear that this person had been struck by a large number of bullets. After raiding the medicine cabinet (he found only a couple if stimpaks and rad-x), he found a holotape under a desk. Marcus pluged it into his PIPBOY and listened. A man claiming to be a doctor reported that one of the vault residents, who had no prior history of mental illness, went wild and began attacking people. The doctor claimed that it took over fifteen shots before the security guards could finally take him down.  
"Did anyone in your Vault ever go that crazy?" Lucy asked.  
Marcus removed the holotape. "Not that I'm aware of. Let's keep moving."  
They were heading for the Vault's living quarters now. They found more skeletons and more signs of a horrific battle. Scribled all over the wall was a single phrase: "Let the blue in." They made contact with their first living Vault resident in one of the male dorms. A young woman was crouched down in the middle if the room, her back to Marcus and Lucy. From the sounds it was clear that she was savagely eating something. Marcus looked at Lucy and put his finger to his mouth, then quietly removed his knife. He slowly approached, and when he was standing over her, it was then that Marcus saw what she was eating: a human leg!  
A sound must have escaped Marcus as he gaged, because the woman turned around and looked right at him. Her eyes resembled that of a crazed animal, and blood was smeared all over the lower part of her face. She hissed at Marcus and exposed her blood stained teeth. Marcus drove his knife into the side if her neck, killing her before she could let out a scream. He stood over the body trembling as he clutched the now blood stained knife. Never had he been so terrified.  
Even disarming the bomb in Megaton was not as terrifying as this moment.  
Lucy walked up behind him and had to hold in a scream when she saw the half eaten human leg. "Oh my God! They brought them here to..."  
Marcus turned to leave-and suddenly the room changed. It went from being dirty and in shambles, to clean and pristine. A strange blue haze encompassed everything, and standing in the doorway, wearing a Vault 101 suit, was the love of his life.  
"Amata!" Marcus took a step forward and squinted at the sudden pain that hit his forehead. When he openned his eyes, Amata and the blue haze were gone, and the room had returned to it's original state.  
Lucy grabed his shoulder. "Marcus! Are you alright?"  
Marcus rubbed his brow and tried to shake his head clear. The sudden headach was subsiding, and he looked over at Lucy; who had a concerned look on her face.  
"I'm fine. I...thought I saw-something."  
Lucy wasn't buying it. "You called out for Amata."  
Marcus decided to change the subject. "We have to move before others show up."  
He quickly left the room. Lucy looked back at the dead crazed woman and started to leave. She stopped for a moment and placed her hand on her forehead, as a dull headach began. Brushing it aside, she raised her shotgun and followed Marcus.

* * *

They left the male dormatory and had entered the female living quarters, which was in the same state as the rest of the Vault. They were halfway down the corridor when a door to Marcus' right slid open, and a crazed man swung at him with a fire axe. Marcus jumped back, avoiding the fatal blow, and fired two 12 guage rounds into the man's chest. From up ahead, five more savages, wielding melee weapons of all kinds, came running from around the corner straight at them.  
Marcus and Lucy raised their weapons and openned fire. It took three rounds from Marcus' combat shotgun to take the first man down. The savage Lucy was aiming for only went down when she gave him both barrels. The others didn't slow down at all and were almost upon them. Marcus fired three more rounds, killing another.  
Lucy was still loading her sawed-off when a female savage pinned her against the wall. The last savage, a male, tackled Marcus to the ground. The man had the same crazed look in his eyes as the woman Marcus had killed earlier, and it took all of Marcus' strength to keep the savage from bitting his throat. Marcus reached down, pulled out his 10mm pistol, and fired eight rounds into his attacker's stomach before he finally died.  
Lucy too, was trying desperatly to keep the woman's teeth away from her face. With her right hand Lucy pulled out her combat knife and continuously stabbed the savage in the back and in her side. It wasn't until she stabbed her in the neck that the savage crumpled to the ground. Two more savages came running around the corner, growling and snarling. Marcus sat up and activated his VATS. Aiming for their heads, he fired two rounds, killing them both. When it was clear that on one else was coming, Marcus stood up and ran over to Lucy. "Are you alright?"  
Lucy was shaking and trying to catch her breath. "Yeah. What the FUCK is wrong with these people?"  
Marcus looked at the bodies and shook his head. "I don't know."  
Lucy bent down to pick up her sawed-off shotgun when the headach returned; only this time the hallway was covered in a blue haze. She looked over at the body of the female savaged she had stabbed to death-and it was reaching for her! Lucy screamed and blasted the woman's head off with two shots at point blank range. Marcus grabbed the gun and pulled it away from her. "What are you doing? She's dead!"  
Lucy blinked and the blue haze was gone. She stared at the headless body of the woman, then back to Marcus. "I...I thought she..."  
Marcus released her weapon. As he looked up, the same blue haze returned, the bodies were no longer in the hall, and his father was standing at the other end of it. "Dad!" Marcus ran down the corridor towards him, but just as he reached him, the man disappeared along with the blue haze. Marcus placed his hand on his head. The headaches were getting worse. Lucy was right behind him. "What is happening? First you called out for your old girlfriend, and now you're running after your father?"  
Marcus shook the cobwebs away. "I don't know. I've been...seeing things and having these headaches." Lucy turned around and looked back at the dead woman she decapitated. "I...does everything turn blue when it happens?"  
Marcus thought for a moment. "Yes. That saying on the walls: 'let the blue in'."  
They both stared at each other, and while no one said anything, it was clear they feared the samething: sharing the fate of the Vault residents. Marcus quickly reloaded his weapons. "We have to get to the Overseer's office. We have to find out what happened down here."  
Lucy didn't want to waste anymore time looking for her parents, but she also didn't want to end up a crazed cannibal. "Okay."

* * *

They made it to the office without incident. Luckly the Overseer's terminal still had power, and Marcus hacked into it with his PIPBOY. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.  
"Son of a bitch!"  
"What is it?" Lucy asked.  
"Vault-Tec and the government used the Vault to conduct an experiment in mind control."  
Lucy looked over his shoulder. "Mind control."  
"Yeah. They wanted to make a perfect soldier; one that would follow orders to the letter. Even if it meant certain death."  
Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And the people had no idea?"  
Marcus shook his head. "Not according to this. Whatever they were using was pumped into the Vault's ventilation system. Only something went terribly wrong."  
A bitter chuckle escaped from Lucy. "Ya think?"  
Marcus sat back in the chair and sighed. "They used these people as gunie pigs. They told them they would be safe from the bombs, and these bastards used them!"  
Marcus' shock was giving way to rage. How many other Vaults were used for experiments like this? Was HIS Vault being used even now? These were questions Marcus would find the answers to, but not now. They needed to find Lucy's parents fast and get out of here. Lucy interupted his train of thought. "I don't understand how these people survived down here like this."  
Marcus shook his head. "I don't think these people are the original Vault dwellers. Rather, they're wastelanders who found the Vault open and decided to move in."  
Lucy was puzzled. "But they're wearing the jumpsuits."  
"Yes, but none of them are wearing PIPBOYs. The only ones I've seen are on the skeletons. A PIPBOY 2000 is password protected, so these people couldn't use them.  
They put on the jumpsuits, made themselves at home..."  
"And slowly went crazy."  
Marcus nodded. "Yes. We just have to keep it together long enough in this fucking house of horrors to find your parents."

* * *

They continued their search deeper into the Vault. Eventually they made it to the caffateria and forced themselves to look inside. It was as they dreaded: half-eaten body parts and blood were everywhere; some of them served up on plates. Marcus openned the refrigerator and found slabs of meat. Lucy was beginning to think that they were too late, but she had to keep looking.  
Leaving the caffateria the pair make their way down to the atrium. Despite every attrocity they had seen, it didn't prepare them for this.  
"Jesus Christ!" Marcus gasped.  
The atrium had been turned into a slaughterhouse. Human bodies, many of them incomplete, were hanging upside down from meat hooks. The Vault residents had disembowled them and left thier carcusses to drain. "Do you remember when I told you these were not animals?" Marcus asked. "I was wrong."  
Lucy couldn't hold back anymore and threw up. Marcus fought the urge to do the something; more for Lucy's sake. He felt the need to be stronge for her.  
When she had finished, Lucy forced herself to look at their faces. About halfway through, she stopped dead in her tracks and began to shake.  
"Lucy, what is it?"  
She was staring at the bodies of a middle aged couple. The woman had long blonde hair, and Marcus knew that Lucy had found her parents.  
"Oh Lucy," Marcus sighed, "I'm so sorry."  
She dropped down to her knees. She didn't even care that she was knelling in human blood and bile. Lucy began to sob and Marcus placed his hand on her shoulder.  
"Lucy, we can't stay here anymore."  
She pulled away from him and began to scream. Marcus tried to calm her down, but the damage had been done. Up on the catwalk four of the savage Vault dwellers appeared; growling and snarling at them. That was it. Marcus grabbed the hysterical Lucy and began to drag her out of the atrium. "Come on, Lucy!" he screamed, "We have to go now!"  
The four savages leaped down from the catwalk. Marcus threw Lucy through the doorway and removed two of the frag grenades he had found in Arefu. Although he had never used one, Marcus had seen enough movies to know how the grenades worked. As the savages charged, Marcus pulled the pins and threw them at the savages. "Yeah, fuck you too!" He entered the hallway and the atrium door shut behind him. The explosion shook the corridore he and Lucy were in, but no one in the slaughter house survived. Lucy was still crying, but she was beginning to calm down. Marcus approached her. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"  
Lucy wiped her eyes. "No. Thank you."  
"Lucy, there's nothing more we can do here. We should leave."  
"No." she growled. "We need to kill them. ALL of them!"  
The look on Lucy's face sent a chill up his spine, but Marcus could hardly blame her. Though these people were victums of Vault-Tec's experiments, they needed to die. More importantly, they had to prevent others from wandering in here and turning into these savages. "Alright. There is one way to do it quickly, and it will seal this Vault forever. We have to cause the reactor to melt down."  
"Do you know how to do that?"  
Marcus began heading down the hallway. "I think so. If I can hack into the system and shutdown the reactor's cooling system, it will over heat and blow." He looked down at his PIPBOY. "I just hope I'll be able to override the safety proticals."  
Though Lucy didn't understand everything he said, she still liked the plan. "Where is the reactor?"  
"One level down."

* * *

It took only a few minutes to reach the reactor room. Again there were signs of an intense battle. A few skeletons littered the hallway outside the room, and inside were more skeletons behind sandbags and barricades. Marcus looted two clips of 10mm ammo and three more frag grenades from the ammo boxes he'd discovered. He approached the reactor controls and plugged in his PIPBOY. It was clear that the reactor had sustained damage from small arms fire, which explained why it was only running at emergency output. Still, it would be more than enough to bury this place. "Okay, I'm in." He said. "Let's see. Override safety proticals...there." He looked over at Lucy. "Now once I do this, it can't be undone, and we will have to run like hell."  
Lucy's blue eyes met his, and the intensity in them was incredible. "Do it!"  
Marcus nodded. "Here we go."  
He punched in the command, and the reactor's cooling system shut down. An ear-splitting alarm sounded throughout the Vault, followed by an auto-mated announcement:  
"Attention, please. Reactor melt down in progress. You now have T-minus five minutes to evacuate."  
Marcus unplugged his PIPBOY. "That's it, let's go!"  
They grabbed thier gear and ran back through the doomed Vault. The alarm system wailed the entire time, and the evacuation anouncement repeated itself every thirty seconds. They had reached the caffeteria at T-minus three minutes when they spotted a large group of savages advancing from the other end. Marcus shoved Lucy to the other side of the corridore. "Take cover!"  
They openned fire with their shotguns and dropped the first three, but the others kept coming. "COME ON!" Lucy screamed as she tossed a grenade, killing four more. Marcus could see more through the smoke, and targeted them with his VATS. He fired until his combat shot gun was empty, and tossed another grenade down the hall.  
Body parts flew everywhere, and Marcus slapped his last ammo drum into his shotgun.  
"Attention, please. You now have T-minus two minutes to evacuate."  
Marcus knew they were running out of time. He yelled at Lucy. "We have to push through them!"  
Lucy reloaded her sawed-off, and removed her last grenade from her belt. "You ready?"  
Marcus fired two more rounds, killing two more savages. "Now!"  
Lucy pulled the pin and threw the grenade. Another explosion, and more body parts went flying everywhere.  
"Go!" Marcus yelled as he charged down the corridore, with Lucy right behind him. After nearly slipping on something that Marcus didn't want to think about, they made it through the caffeteria and into the living quarters. Two more savages came charging from up ahead, and Marcus put them both down without skipping a step. They were running past the lab when a savage jumped out behind Marcus with a sword, determined to bring the blade down on his head. But in his bloodlust, the savage did not see Lucy, who blew his head off with her shotgun. Marcus turned and saw the body, then looked back at Lucy. "Thanks."  
"Attention, please. You now have T-minus one minute to evacuate."  
"Come on, move!" Lucy yelled as she was began pushing Marcus down the hall.  
The door to the Vault enterance was just up ahead. Marcus readied his last grenade and had Lucy run ahead of him. He looked over his shoulder, and saw another horde of savages running after them. "GOOOOO!" he screamed.  
They made it through the doorway and Marcus hit the door switch and tossed the grenade under it before it shut. He smashed the controls just as the grenade went off.  
"Attention, please. You now have T-minus thirty seconds to evacuate. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight..."  
Marcus grabbed Lucy's hand. "Come on!"  
They ran through the open cog into the cave, then through the wooden door and out into wasteland. They continued to sprint until they finally reached the ditch they were in the day before.  
The reactor's explosion shook the entire mountain. A large cload of dust shot out of the cave, obliterating the wooden door, and Marucs knew that it had caved in.  
They had done it. Vault 106 was sealed forever.  
Marcus layed down on his back to catch his breath. "We did it. We did it."  
Suddenly, Lucy was on top of him, and before he could react, her lips met his. Although surprised, Marcus didn't stop her. After a few moments, she lifter her head and stared into his brown eyes. "Thank you." she whispered.  
Marcus smiled and put his arm around her. "Your welcome."  
This time the kiss was mutual.

* * *

It was just after midnight, and the two young travelers were walking side by side towards the east. "So how long will it take us to get to Galaxy New Radio?" Marcus asked.  
Lucy thought for a moment. "About two days, but it's not the distance that's the problem. It's what's between us and GNR that's a problem."  
"Like what?"  
"Oh, super mutants, feral ghouls, raiders...the usual."  
Marcus grinned. "We just wiped out an entire settlement of crazed cannibals. I think we can handle anything at this point."  
Lucy smiled at his cockiness and stopped. "You think so, hu?"  
Marcus turned and looked into her brilliant eyes. "Sure I do. As long as you don't slow me down."  
Lucy gave him a playfull jab. "Oh really. You'd be lost without me."  
Marcus laughed. "Well I don't..."  
The bullet entered the left side of Lucy's head and exited the right. Blood splattered all over Marcus's face, and he stumpled backwards as Lucy's lifeless body fell to the ground. Marcus turned to his right, fumbling for his shotgun when two more rounds of .308 slammed into his Vault body armor, knocking him to the ground. Though the bullets didn't penetrate, it felt like Marcus'chest had been blown out. Before he knew it, two men were standing over him; one with a .308 sniper rifle pointed at his face.  
"Alright! Time to collect those caps!" said the man with the rifle.  
"Hold on." the other said. "Eulogy wants this cat brought to him first."  
The man with the rifle was shocked. "What! What about the contract?"  
"You work for Eulogy, remember? You will get paid."  
The slaver sighed, then smashed Marcus in the face with the butt of his rifle.

Author's note: Thank you all for reading my first fanfiction novel. Marcus, aka the Lone Wanderer's adventures will continue in my up coming book: "Fallout, Volume II: Paradise Lost." Hope you will all check it out.


	7. I am so Screwed

**Note: I decided to keep adding to this fanfic, rather than start a new one. Hope you enjoy it.**

I Am So Screwed

When Marcus woke up the first thing he realized was that his weapons and body armor where gone. It was dark so he quickly turned on his PIPBOY light, and from what he could see, it appeared that he was in a small abandoned classroom. Marcus sat up and his head began to throb. The last thing he remembered was the two slavers standing over him after they had killed...

"Lucy!" Marcus cried out. The memory of her death brought on a sudden wave of tears, and as he wiped them away, Marcus realized that her blood was still on his face. 'Get a hold of yourself', he thought. 'Crying will not get you out of here'. After drying his tears, Marcus realized that something heavy was around his neck. He grabed hold of it and realized it was a metal collar.

"Don't touch it!"

Marcus jumped at the female voice coming from the darkness. He shifted his light, and saw a woman sitting against the wall just a few feet from him. "It's a slave collar. If you try to take it off or escape-boom!"

Marcus' hand carefully slid away from his neck. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're in Paradise Falls, mungo."

It was another voice, a child's, coming from the opposite end of the room. With his PIPBOY light, Marcus could see three children, two boys and one girl. They looked like they were between eight and ten years old. "What's Paradise Falls?" he asked.

The children laughed. "You've never heard of Paradise Falls?" one of the boys said. "Jesus Christ, mungo, you been living in a hole in the ground?"

The boy's fowl language caught Marcus by surprised. If he or any of the other children in the Vault had talked like that to an adult, they would've been on trash detail for a month. Marcus had to keep reminding himself that this was the wasteland. "Actually...yes, I have been. I grew up in a Vault."

The other boy, and African-American, rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, whatever you say, mungo."

"Hey, hold on a minute!" It was another captive, this time a middle-aged man who stepped into Marcus' light. 'Yeah, you're that kid from Vault 101, ain't ya?"

Marcus was alarmed that this man knew about him, so he stood up before answering. "Yes I am."

A smile crossed the man's face and he slapped Marcus on the shoulder. "I heard all about you kid; how you stopped some lunatice from blowing up Megaton."

By now the other captives, about six in all, began to gather around him. Marcus stood there amazed that this complete stranger had already heard about that.

"Man, Three Dog has been talking about you on Galaxy News Radio! My name's John, by the way."

Marcus' eyes widened. "Three Dog! The disc jockey? He knows about me?"

"Well, he doesn't call you by your name. He just refers to you as 'the kid from Vault 101'." John address the group. "This cat caught some guy named, um...Burke. That's it, Burke was trying to rig the bomb in Megaton to explode." He pointed to Marcus. "Not only does he capture Burke, but he disarms the bomb himself."

Everyone was amazed by the story, and Marcus began to blush. "Well, I...had some help from Sheriff Simms."

"Great mungo," it was the girl speaking, "so why don't you figure out a way for us to get out of here."

Being more than a little annoyed, Marcus walked over to the children. "Why do you call me that?"

The little girl, who introduced herself as Penny, answered the question. "That's what we call all you adults: mungos."

"And your parents are okay with this?"

Penny made a rather rude face. "We don't have any parents. We take care of ourselves."

Marcus' annoyance now gave way to sadness and pitty. "You mean...you're all alone out here?"

"No way!" Penny said. "We live in Little Lamplight; it's a town where only kids are allowed to live."

Marcus looked over at the other captives, then back to the children. "An entire town of only children? How have you survived?"

One of the boys, who the others called Squirrel, scoffed at him. "You adult all think you know everything. Little Lamplight is in the old Lamplight caverns, and our town's been around since the bombs fell. Any child can live there, but once you're sixteen, you have to leave and live in Big Town."

"What do you have against adults?" Marcus asked.

The third child, Sammy, was quick to answer. "We don't need'em! When adults are around...bad things happen."

As if on que, a door leading to the outside flew open, and three "adults" stepped inside. Each one was dressed in black leather and armed to the teeth with assault rifles. One of them approached Marcus. "Let's go."

Marcus stood defiant. "Where the hell are you..."

A punch square in the gut sent Marcus down on one knee.

"Speak when spoken to, slave!"

The other two grabed Marcus by his arms and dragged him outside. The sun blazed over head and Marcus struggled to see his surroundings. Just outside the abandoned school wa a fenced in holding pen filled with about a dozen more slaves. They were men, women, children, even a couple of ghouls. They dragged Marcus out of the pen and into the main camp. He could see slavers all around eating, drinking - a couple were even fucking. Marcus spotted an eatery and a small clinic on one end of the camp. In the center was a thirty foot tall tower with a slaver manning a 5mm minigun. As he struggled against his captors, Marcus noticed several automated gun turrents mounted around the camp.

His captors brought him to the front of what was once a hotel, and just off to the side was a brahmin hide on a hug spit. The slavers shoved Marcus through the double doors of the hotel, and he found himself standing in the lobby. Aside from the empty front desk, all that was inside was another automated turret scanning the area. There was a doorway on either side of the desk and Marcus was pushed through the one to his right. Both doors led into a huge room containing a heart shapped bed, and a large projector on the back wall. Marcus was brought ot the center of the room and his wrist were shackled to a chain above his head. One of the slavers pulled a lever on the wall, and with a violent jolt Marcus was hoisted two feet off the ground.

"Aaaah, shit!" Marcus yelled. As he hung helplessly from the ceiling, a black man wearing a rather loud, red suit entered the room. He was closely followed by two women wearing slave collars, but who were also armed with Chinese officer swords. As Marcus wondered why a slave was allowed to walk around this place with a weapon, the black man spoke. "My name is Eulogy Jones, and you must be: 'the kid from Vault 101' that everyone is talking about." Jones mockinly bowed to Marcus.

"What do you want with me?"

The same slaver who punched him in the stomach now stepped up and slapped Marcus across the face. "You don't ask Mr. Jones questions, slave!"

"Fuck you!" Marcus spat back.

The slaver responded with several more punches to Marcus' face and stomach.

"Enough!" Jones said.

The slaver backed away, and Jones approached Marcus until they were face to face. "You've got guts kid, but it doesn't mean shit to me. You have a pretty big bounty on your head, and I intend to cash in on it." He grabbed Marcus by the chin and forced the teenager to look into his eyes. "But before I do that, I need something from you."

Marcus fought against the pain in his arms and stomach. "What...do you want?"

Jones released his chin. "I want you to download everything that wonderfull PIPBOY of yours has on your Vault. Where it is, how many people are there, security protocals - everything."

For a moment Marcus only stared at Eulogy as he wondered why the slaver would want...

"It won't do you any good. You'll never get in!"

Eulogy laughed and it was then that one of the slave girls, who was well built with bleach blonde hair parted to the side, stepped up to Marcus and punched him the jaw. "Eulogy always gets what he wants! You got that?"

Marcus didn't respond. Eulogy placed his arm around the woman. "Now, now, Clover. He'll give me what I want."

Clover looked at her master. "Let me kill'em for you baby, please."

Now Eulogy jerked the woman's arm. I said that's enough! Get over on the bed!"

Without any hesitation, the slave girl Clover obeyed. Eulogy smirked at Marcus. "You're lucky, kid. Clover is as crazy out of the sack as she is in it. But my girl Crimson," he pointed at the other slave girl, an African-American woman, "she will eat your liver if I tell her to."

Marcus responed by spitting in Eulogy's face. The guards were about to pounce when their master held up his hand. Eulogy removed a red hankerchief from his jacket and wiped his cheek. "Last chance: give me the Vault's information, or I will make you beg for death."

Marcus kept his eyes locked on the slave master while a million thoughts flashed through his mind. He knew these men would beat and torture him within an inch of his life to get what they wanted, and for a moment Marcus considered giving it to them. After all the Vault had been sealed for 200 years. It would be impossible for Eulogy and his men to get inside. Wouldn't it? Marcus began thinking about Amata and the rest of the people he had grown up with - and his decision was made. He took a deep breath and braced himself. "I'm not giving it to you! So do your worst, chicken shit!"

And they did. For the next four hours the slavers beat him with everything from thier fist, to brass knuckles and police batons. When that didn't break him, the slavers tore the back of his jumpsuit and whipped him until he passed out. At some point during all of this both of Marcus' shoulders were pulled from thier sockets. The slave girl Crimson joined in, and she dug her blood red nails into the right side of his face, and scratched him down to his chest. On more than one occasion, Marcus nearly broke. But each time he was about to give Eulogy what he wanted, Marcus thought about Amata. The idea of her being Eulogy's slave was enough to steel him against the pain.

When it was finally over, the slavers lowered Marcus to the ground, and his leg immediatly gave out underneath him. The slavers medic, a woman named Cutter, was brought in, and brutally re-set his arms back in place. Cutter then injected Marcus with several stimpaks before the slavers threw him back into the holding pen for the night.

One of the slaves, a ghoul named Jeanette, gave Marcus her ration of water and tried to clean his wounds. In between bouts of concessness, Marcus begged her to kill him.

"I will not." Jeanette replyed. "If I do, they'll kill us all."

Marcus cried out as she accidently touched his broken ribs. "I'm sorry. They gave you stimpaks to heal you, but no Med-X to dull the pain." She began to clean the whip marks on his back. "They will keep you alive and heal you, so that they can continure to torture you. My advise: give them what they want."

Marcus winced in pain. "I...can't."

Jeanette shook her head. "Whatever you're portecting, I hope it's worth it."

Just before he passed out, Marcus whispered: "She is."

The next morning the same three slavers from the day before dragged Marcus out of the holding pen. While his wounds had begun to heal, he was still very weak and soar. The slavers brought him back to Eulogy's room, where the slave chieftain was waiting with his slave girls. When Marcus was again chained and hoisted off the ground, Eulogy spoke. "It seems we have a slight change of plans. The...individual who put the contract on your head know you are here, and is demanding I deliever you to him now. So that means the time for being nice is over." He nodded at two of the guards, who walked out of the room. A few minutes later they reappeared, only this time they had Jeanette and Penny. The guards held them a few feet infront of Marcus, and both of them were shaking with fear. Eulogy stepped behind Jeanette, drew a rather large .44 caliber pistol from his jacket, and shot her in the head. Penny screamed and tried to run, but Eulogy grabbed the girl and put the gun to her head.

At that moment, Marcus lost it and began screaming and thrashing around. "I'LL FUCKING KIll YOU! ALL OF YOU!"

The slaver who had always made it a point to slap Marcus when he spoke out of turn, walked up to him and did it again, only this time, Marcus was close enough to sink his teeth into the man's coradid artary. The slaver screamed, and with one violent jolt, Marcus ripped the tissue away, and the man bled out in seconds. With blood running down chin, Marcus continued to scream and thrash like a mad man until the rest of the guards subdued him.

Eulogy brought Penny closer and put the gun to her temple. "Last chance, hero. I'm going to count to three."

Marcus looked into the eyes of the terrified girl. She didn't say anything, but it through those eyes she was pleading for him to save her.

"One."

Marcus looked around, his mind racing for some way to get out of this.

"Two."

He thought about Amata, about everyone in the Vault. How can he betray them to this animal? His eyes went back to the terrified little girl standing infront of him, and that's when he heard the hammer of Eulogy's gun cock back.

"Three!"

"ALRIGHT!"

Eulogy smiled and secured the gun.

"Alright, damn you! I'll give you what you want...just don't hurt her."

Eulogy handed Penny over to the guard, who took her outside. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"


	8. Paradise Lost

**Paradise Lost**

Once Marcus was unchained, the two guards that remaind dragged him over to a computer terminal which was in the corner of Eulogy's room. After forcing him into the chair, Marcus was handed a memory stick by the slaver chieftain. "Log in with this, and don't try anything stupid."

Marcus reluctantly took the memory stick and plugged it into the terminal. Once logged in, he then plugged in his PIPBOY's USB drive. As Eulogy watched, Clover came up behind him and began to kiss his neck. "You always get what you want, don't you baby?"

Eulogy smiled. "You know it."

Clover's hand slid down and found his crotch. "There's something I want to give you."

Eulogy turned and faced her. "Is that right?" He hoisted her in the air until she straddled him. "Then come over here and give it to me."

Clover giggled and he carried her over to the heart shaped bed; where the slave girl Crimson was also waiting to "give her boss something". Marcus gagged in disgust. As his PIPBOY was interfacing with the 200 year old terminal, he took a look around and noticed an auto-turret mounted in the corner of the room just to his left - and an idea began to take shape. Marcus looked over at the two guards who were standing just a few feet away, and they were both distracted by the "show" their boss was putting on with his two slave girls. Quickly he began to scan the computers files until he came across one marked "turret controls". He openned the file, and after making sure the guards were still distracted, Marcus quickly read it's content. If he was understanding it correctly, he could either shut the turret system down, or reverse the calibration so that the turrets would shoot everyone WITHOUT a slave coller. It was a long shot, but it was all he had...

"What's taking so long?" It was one of the guards, who was now standing over him. Marcus quickly minimized the screen he was on before he could see what he was up to. "It's taking a little longer to interface with this old tech."

The guard obviously didn't have a clue what he was saying. "Well...just hurry up."

Marcus nodded. As soon as the guard's eyes were back on Eulogy and his girls, Marcus restored the screen and made the neccessary changes to the turrets. After a few more minutes, a rather satisfied Eulogy Jones slapped Marcus in the back of his head. "I want those files NOW you runt!"

Marcus looked up at the slaver, and his eyes scanned the turret directly behind him. Marcus looked back at Eulogy. "Here it comes." He touched the screen of his PIPBOY and held his breath.

The turret's sensor light went from green to red. A second later the turret stopped scanning and pointed itself right at Eulogy Jones, who spun around and found himself staring down it's barrel. "Fuck me..."

Eulogy was cut in half as the turret unleased a hail of bullets. Marcus hit the floor and watched as the unsuspecting guards were also cut down. All around the Paradise Falls compound, turrets came to life and unleased hell on the slavers. Half of them were slaughtered during the initial attack, the rest struggled to grab their weapons and take cover. Inside the holding pen, the slaves watched in terror and awe as their captures were torn apart.

Inside the hotel, Marcus struggled to his feet and ran over to one of the dead guards. He was about to pick up his AK-47 when the slave girl Crimson charged at him; screaming and swinging her chinese sword. As Marcus tried to keep his distance from the insane girl, he realized that while the turrets would target Eulogy's guards, they would not target his slave girls since they wore collars. As Crimson continued her crazed advance, Marcus picked up the chair he was sitting on and used it to block her strikes. But the wooded chair didn't have a chance against the steel blade, and after only three hits, it was splintered. Marcus fell on his back, and Crimson stood over him with her sword raised above her head.

The blade sprung from Crimson's chest, and blood splattered all over Marcus' face. As he wiped the bodily fluid away, Crimson dropped her sword and began to spit up more blood. A moment later, the blade was pulled out of her back, and her lifeless body crumpled to the floor. Marcus looked up and saw Clover, holding a now blood stained chinese sword in her right hand. She approached Marcus and presented him with her left. "Well come on, suga, we can't hang around here."

Marcus was still trying to comprehend what had just happened when he cautiously took Clover's hand. After helping him to his feet, the slave girl began sifting through Eulogy's corps and pulled out the .44 revolver which he used to kill Jeanette. She then went over to one of the guards and removed his AK-47 and combat vest. Clover handed the revolver to Marcus and they both headed for the hotel's entrance. They had just reached the lobby when an explosion just outside the door sent both of them to the ground behind the counter. Marcus suspected that the hotels outside turret had just been taken out by a missle, and confirmation came in the form of three slavers kicking in the hotels door. The lobby's turret immediatly openned fire and killed one of them, but the other two began blasting the turret with their assault rifles. As Marcus watched the turret begin to spark and sputter, Clover popped up from behind the counter and fired her AK-47, killing one of the slavers. Marcus got up on one knee and fired the .44. The power of the revolver suprised him, and Marcus gripped the gun with both hands as he fired two more rounds, putting down the third slaver.

Both he and Clover ducked back down and stared at each other. "We can't stay too long, honey." Clover said. "It sounds like they're making quick work of your turrets."

Marcus took a moment and listened to the chaos going on outside, and it was clear that the gun fire from the turrets was dying down, but the small arms fire from the slavers was not letting up. "So what do we do?"

Clover reached down her shirt and removed a key, which she handed to Marcus. "Upstairs is Eulogy's room. He has a small arsenal in a wardrobe closet; use it!"

Clover tried to move passed him, but Marcus grabbed her arm. "Why are you helping me?"

Clover responded with a seductive smile. "We'll talk later, lover. But right now, I have to get us some transportation."

Marcus released her and watched as she ran through a side door of the lobby and disappeared. 'Transportation?' he thought. An explosion outside compelled Marcus to run up the stair case of the hotel, and he found himself standing in what must have been the honeymoon suit. It didn't take long to find the wardrobe, and he used the key to unlock it.

"Holy shit!"

It was an understatement. Inside were two AK-47 rifles, a combat shotgun, advanced black leather body armor, and a 40mm grenade launcher. Marcus removed the bulky grenade launcher and examined it. The weapon had a huge barrel which held eight of the 40mm shells, and after quickly reading the instructions, Marcus realized that it was ready to fire. A sinister grin crossed his face, and he headed for the double doors leading to the hotel's balcony.

* * *

Outside, the last of the turrets had been destroyed. The remaining slavers, about a dozen total, were in the center of the compound; cowaring behind what ever cover they could find. One of them, a female named Violet, poked her head up from behind the pile of sandbags she was hiding behind. "What the fuck was that?"

No one answered. The double doors on the balconey leading to Eulogy's room sudden burst open. At first Violet expected to see her boss, but her hopes were quickly dashed as she saw the Vault 101 jumpsuit. "It's that Vault kid, shoot'em!"

Marcus looked down at the cowering slavers and openned fire. They were like fish in a barrel, and 40mm grenades full upon them like steel rain. Marcus showed them no mercy, and within seconds every raider in the compound below was dead or dying. Over in the holding pen, the slaves cheered at the sight of the slaughter. But the celebration was cut short when Marcus heard the sound of a 5mm mini gun spinning up. He spotted the slaver at the top of the tower, and as 5mm rounds tore into the balcony, Marcus dove back inside the hotel suit and hit the ground. As bullets were flying all around him, Marcus checked his weapon, and saw that he had one grenade left. He paitently waited for the minigun to run out of ammo, which didn't take long considering it's firing rate was 3,000 rounds a minute. As the slaver struggled to reload the massive weapon, Marcus appeared at the balcony again and actived his VATS. He locked onto the slavers torso and pulled the trigger. As the grenade sailed through the air, the doomed slaver raised his hands and screamed. A moment later he was atomized in a tremendous explosion, which also destroyed the minigun.

Marcus took a moment to catch his breath. It was over. For the second time in as many days he had cheated death; and had brought death to many others. Marcus didn't know what to attibute his fortune to. Lord knows he had never been trained for any of this, yet here he was once again: the last man standing. Marcus didn't know if their was a higher power watching over him, or if it was all dumb luck. One thing was certain: he wanted to find his father soon and get the hell out of this hell before his luck ran out. He quickly removed the Vault jumsuit and put on the advanced leather armor that was in Eulogy's wardrobe. Marcus took the grenade launcher, one of the AK-47's, and all of the ammo he could. He even found more ammo for the .44 revolver, which he put in the armor's holster.

As he headed down the stairs, he noticed a purple glow coming from under the stair case and he decided to investigate. He found crates filled with glass bottles, some where glowing purple, and others had just a black liquid in them. Marcus picked up one of each and read the lables: the black liquid was called Nuka Cola, and the glowing one was labeled Nuka Cola Quantum. Marcus had read about Nuka Cola in the Vault; that it was a very popular drink before the bomb's fell, but he had never heard of the Quantum. Deciding not to drink the glowing stuff, Marcus downed the regular Nuka Cola. It was very good, and he decided to have another. After quenching his thirst (and a few belges), Marcus walked outside into the compound. He began to search the slavers to see if any of them were still alive. Most of them were not, and the ones that were he took care of with a bullet to the head. A moan to his left caught Marcus' attention, and he soon found a slaver lying on his back still alive and missing his left leg. The slaver tried to remove a double barrel shotgun from a holster strapped to his right leg, but Marcus stepped on the man's wrist, prompting another moan. As he was about to put him out of his misery, Marcus looked at the man's face and he realized that he knew this man. He then looked down at the slavers shotgun- and Marcus' blood ran cold. That was Lucy's shotgun, and this was the man who killed her.

Without saying a word, Macus knelt down and removed the shotgun from the slavers hand. He then placed the barrel on the man's forehead. "Her name was Lucy West."

Before the slaver could cry out, Marcus fired both barrels.

"Damn! I think you got'em, lover."

Marcus spun around and saw Clover walking towards him. She had disgarded her slave girl outfit and was wearing a rather scantly suit of leather armor. "What do you say we collect what we can and get out of here, suga."

Marcus continued to point his AK-47 in her direction, forcing Clover to stop. "Why did you help me?"

Clover's otherwise playful demeanor suddenly gave way to one of anger. "For five years I was this pig's slave! Five years I had to give into his...needs, and pretend that I enjoyed it! For five years I waited for my chance to get away from that animal, and that bitch Crimson. YOU were that chance. Why else do you think I distracted him while you were at that terminal?"

Marcus was caught off guard by the last statement. "How could...how could you have known..."

"I didn't. But I knew what was on that terminal, and you looked like someone who was pretty resourceful." She stepped closer and slowly pushed the gun's barrel away with her hand. "So I rolled the dice and hoped you were as smart as I thought you were." She took a look around at the carnage. "Looks like it paid off."

Marcus lowered the weapon, and Clover stepped even closer. "So between that, and saving your ass from Crimson, you owe me."

Marcus looked into her eyes and thought about everything she had said. At first he thought she was just an opportunist, and he could still be right, but it was true: he did owe Clover his life. "Alright, what do you want?"

"To travel with you. Where ever you go, I go."

Marcus was not expecting this. "Don't you have any where to go? Any family?"

The look on Clover's face immediatly made Marcus regret asking that. "No." she said flatly. "Now can we go?"

Marcus nodded. "Okay, but we have something to do first."

* * *

After using Eulogy's terminal to deactive the slave collars, Marcus used the keys found on the slave chieftain's body to remove the one around his neck. He then went over to the holding pen where the jubelant slaves were waiting. "You're slave collars have been deactived." he declared as he unlocked the gate. "You're free."

The slaves cheered and mobbed Marcus, and after an endless chorus of hugs and thank yous, he was able to remove all of their collars. "Take what weapons and supplies you need and head out, we don't know if any more slavers are on their way."

The liberated slaves did just that, and before long they were running for the main gate and freedom. Penny and the rest of the children stopped to say goodbye to Marcus.

"Thanks alot, mungo. You're alright."

Marcus smiled and knelt down to her level. "It was my pleasure."

Penny gave him a hug, which took Marcus by surprise. "If you're ever near Little Lamplight, come and stop in. I'll tell Mayor Macreedy to let you in."

Marcus nodded. "I just might do that. Goodbye kids."

"Bye mungo." they said in unison.

As Marcus watched them leave, he suddenly felt a sense of joy and pride. He had not only saved himself and the Vault, but he had also saved these slaves and countless others. Dispite all of the death and destruction, good had come out of it.

"If you're done saving the world," said an impatient Clover, "we should get going."

Marcus walked up to her and present the key. "Here you go."

Clover stared at the key and then shook her head. "I think I'll...keep it for a while."

Marcus gave her a confused look. "Are you sure?"

Clover nodded. "Yeah. Come on, let's go."

She turned and quickly walked away. Marcus stood there pondering what had just happened. Why in the world would she keep the collar? She couldn't have wanted it as a suvanier. Then again, after five years, who knows what kind of brain washing Eulogy had done to her. Maybe it wasn't that Clover didn't want to get rid of the collar, maybe she couldn't! Marcus decided he would talk to her about it another time, and he put the key in his pocket. "Hey what did you mean earlier when you said you were getting transportation?" he asked as he caught up to her.

Clover smiled. "I'll show you."

* * *

Clover brought Marcus to Paradise Falls' gun store called "Lock and Load". Just outside the stores owner, Pronto, was lying dead; gunned down by one of the turrets. There was a large garage door just off to the side of the shops main entrance, and Clover lifted the door open. Marcus could not contain the look of wonderment on is face. "No way!"

Inside the shop was a large pickup truck, with the letters GMC on the front. It was painted grey and had steel fencing mounted on it's windows, and inside the trucks eight foot bed was a mounted .50 caliper machine gun.

Marcus walked around the battle truck speechless. Clover leaned against the hood with her arms crossed. "Impressed?"

Marcus nodded. "What does it run on?"

Clover walked over to the truck bed. "Micro-fusion cells, suga." She reached inside the bed and pulled back a tarp, revealing over a dozen cells. "And we have enough to drive to California."

Marcus could not believe their luck. "Clover, I could kiss you right now."

Before he knew it, Clover rushed over to him and locked her lips to his. At first Marcus didn't know how to respond to the woman's sudden move, but when she slipped her tonge inside his mouth, he grabed a hold of her and responded in kind.

Clover released her hold on him. "There's more where that came from, lover."

As she walked away, Marcus took a moment to compose himself. "Um...what do you say we load up what we can and get out of here."

Clover agreed. "Sounds good to me. Where to?"

"GNR."

She shot him a smile. "Cool, I always wanted to meet Three Dog."

After loading the truck with food, water, and enough weapons and ammo to start a small war, the two travelers got into the truck and speed off. Clover was driving of course, seeing as how Marcus had never driven anything before. As they left Paradise Falls behind, Marcus spoke to his new companion. "Listen, I need to make a detore. There's...something I have to do before we head to GNR."

"No problem, suga."

* * *

It was right around sunset when Marcus finished buring the remains of Lucy West next to her brother Ian. Needless to say, there wasn't much left to bury. Marcus had Clover drive to the outskirts of Vault 106, where he found what was left of her. The slavers had stripped her of all she had, including her cloths. The local "wildlife" had picked her body to the bone. Only the body's location and few remaining strands of blonde hair confirmed to Marcus that it was Lucy. As Clover, who was not happy about driving with a rotting corps, waited by the truck, Marcus said his final goodbyes. When he was finished, he took Lucy's sawed-off shotgun and placed it in the hip holster he took from her murderer. He then turned and walked back to Clover.

"You ready, honey?"

Marcus nodded and got inside. "Let's do this."

Clover started the engine, and with the setting sun to their backs, they headed towards the heart of the Capital Wasteland.


End file.
